Family Business by VampireNaomi
Summary: Mechanikles' family turns up for a surprise visit, there is a problem in the dungeons of Agrabah, and things go down from there.
Rating: PG
Categories: Aladdin
Characters: Aladdin, Genie, Jasmine, Mechanikles, Original Characters
Genres: Action/Adventure
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Published: 03/31/06
Updated: 04/04/06
Index
Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Chapter 5: Chapter 5
Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Author's Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Note: I'm aware that medieval Arabia and ancient Greece didn't exist at the same time, and therefore some of the references seem out of place. However, I have decided to regard the Hercules/Aladdin crossover episode (in which the two heroes meet) as canon, which explains why these two historical times co-exist in this story. It works better for my story this way, and I don't see why I should be historically accurate about this fact since people at Disney weren't.
Being on your schedule has always been tough work. It was especially so to Mechanikles who never ran out of things to do. When he wasn't busy cleaning up his workshop, organizing his items or building new bugs to kill Aladdin or to otherwise satisfy his villainous desires, he was most likely trying to get sand out of his previous inventions. It was frustrating work, as sand had the habit of never running out on desert. When he got something properly cleaned, the next machine was already demanding his attention.
Therefore, it wasn't a surprise that he wasn't feeling very happy on that particular day. His new invention, a slender brown earwig that could travel underground, was complete save for several finishing touches on the control system. That, however, did nothing to improve his horrible mood. He had been working on that machine for over a month and there were still problems he hadn't quite managed to solve. Somehow sand kept finding its way into the machinery and got everything out of order. On top of that the continued work on the insect had interrupted his pace of life.
That particular day had always been the day when he did his laundry, and now he hadn't had the time to do that yet. If there was something Mechanikles loathed with passion -- other than dirt, disorder and Aladdin, of course -- it was being behind schedule.
"Oh, I don't believe it!" he cursed to himself and kicked a wrench in his frustration. "How am I supposed to make this beauty dive underground when it stops working with only a handful of sand inside it?" He closed his eyes for a moment.
It had been a while since he had last time tried to have his revenge on Aladdin. His plan had failed, as usual, but this time he was sure he'd make it. Soon that annoying pest with hair too thick for his own good would be out of his life forever.
If I could just get this to work the way I want it to, he thought and glared at the earwig. It was rather long with six tiny feet. It wasn't the kind he could control from the inside. He had decided that in order to beat Aladdin, he needed something fast and agile, and you just couldn't have anything like that if you had to build an inner control room. No, this little beauty was the perfect assassin on its own.
He pulled out his scroll and examined it critically. "This won't do! I should have done the laundry two hours ago. How infuriating!" He quickly wrote down 'finish earwig later' and put the scroll back again. He'd have to do the laundry now or he'd have an even greater mess to sort out before he noticed it.
"Scooter, come here, will you?" he cooed to the mechanical beetle that he still kept around, even though the design wasn't one of his best. Far too easy to defeat, as experience had shown him.
The beetle flew to him with an empty bucket. There was an oasis nearby where Mechanikles got all the water he needed. He sent the beetle to get him some and started preparing the laundry.
"About time I get something done about these. Stains have to be removed as soon as possible or they'll never come off properly," he talked to himself as he organized the pile of dirty clothes. Or rather, clothes that would have been clean in anyone else's eyes but were horrendously filthy to him.
Doing housework chores, while a necessary evil, always helped him organize his thoughts. He kept thinking about the earwig and what he could possibly have overlooked. Sand didn't usually prove to be such a problem. If he covered even the tiniest holes, the machine would become clumsier. The only way to get around the problem was to use small metal plates that fit into each other perfectly without limiting the bug's movements, but that would require at least a few days more work.
"Why does it have to be like this?" he complained to himself. "Getting rid of that meddlesome nuisance should be easy, but something always comes up and ruins my plans!" The mere thought of Aladdin was enough to make his day miserable, so he forced the young man out of his mind.
"Perfectly organized!" He clasped his hands together and admired his work. All his dirty tunics folded identically into a pile that stood straight. That little piece of order improved his mood a little and he settled down to wait for Scooter's arrival.
The beetle returned a few minutes later, carrying the bucket full of water. However, it didn't come alone, and that destroyed whatever optimism Mechanikles had started to feel.
"I wasn't expecting guests," he muttered to himself in annoyance. Guests were another nuisance, though a lot rarer one than Aladdin. Still, both had the incredible ability to make him boil and destroy whatever work he had got or was about to get done.
He marched to the entrance, ready to tell the intruders that he had nothing they might want and if they didn't leave as soon as possible, he'd send his bugs after them. When he got closer, he froze. His jaw almost fell to the floor. He knew these people!
The first one to catch his attention was a tall, muscular man. He had covered himself with light armour and looked very out of place in Mechanikles' workshop. His dark hair was a little curly and he had a beard.
Mechanikles barely had the time to wonder what the heck this man was doing there when he noticed the woman by his side. She, too, was tall and very slim. Not in the slender and nicely filled way, but the way that made one wonder if she was a woman at all. Her most dominating features were her long, black hair and a nose that was a little too long for her face. She looked a lot older than the last time Mechanikles had seen her, but there could be no mistake. It was his sister, Aspasia. The soldier he had noted earlier was, unfortunately, her husband.
It took him a few seconds to recognise the third and last person, however. He couldn't remember ever seeing him before, though he wore familiar features. Only after he had fully registered the thin frame, the black hair and vacant look in the small eyes did he realise that he was staring at Pamphilos, his nephew.
"So, you haven't completely wasted your time during these years," Simonides, his brother-in-law remarked. He pointed at the various mechanical bugs that stood in straight lines around the workshop.
The all too familiar, mocking tone woke Mechanikles up from his trance. "What exactly are you doing here?" he asked. Or shrieked, actually. Whether it was out of fury or surprise, he didn't know.
"We saw this machine and knew it had to be yours. So we just followed it here," Aspasia replied. She knelt to give Scooter a pat. "It's beautiful, you know."
"But what were you doing in the desert? You're supposed to be back in Athens!" Mechanikles could feel a headache coming. He rubbed his temples to soothe the pounding inside his skull and closed his eyes for a moment, hoping that he was merely having a bad dream. The ugly truth was still there when he opened his eyes.
Aspasia frowned angrily. "Is that all you have to say? It's been fifteen years since you left. Why do you act like you aren't even the slightest bit happy to see us?" she asked. She had her arms crossed on her chest and that annoying questioning expression in her eyes. Mechanikles hated it.
"Because I'm not! I don’t like surprises like this, and you still haven't told me why you're here," Mechanikles said. He grabbed a small hand-held bee from his desk and entertained himself with the thought of sending it after his guests, like his original plan had been. If nobody else, after Simonides at least.
"You can't be serious. You're just shocked, that's all. We probably interrupted your work with some of the inventions, right? I remember what you and Metrophanes used to be like with all those --" Aspasia said.
"I'm still waiting," Mechanikles interrupted in frustration.
Aspasia sighed. "It was father's idea to come, actually," she admitted in defeat.
"So, he's still alive?" Mechanikles had to admit he was surprised. He had thought the old man would have got himself killed already. If something fortunate didn’t happen soon, his father would probably outlive him.
"Oh, yes. He got himself a place in the council, as well. He's too old to go to battles anymore, but... You aren't interested, are you?" Aspasia asked dryly.
"No, not really."
"I would have liked to come and find you sooner, but father wouldn't let me travel. He's still mad about the accident, which is rather stupid of him, I know," his sister explained. Mechanikles couldn't remember if she had always liked to babble that much. There were people who said it ran in the family, but he never paid any attention to them.
"Considering that this accident got almost thirty people, many of them members of very high families, killed, I don't think I can blame him," Simonides pointed out. He received an angry glare from Mechanikles in return.
"Oh!" Aspasia almost jumped into the air as she suddenly remembered something. She put her hands on the shoulders of the young man beside her. "Do you remember Pamphilos? He was only five when you last saw him. Hasn't he grown? And what a striking image of Metrophanes he has become!"
"Yes, I can see the resemblance," Mechanikles remarked. True enough; the young man looked a lot like his late brother.
"Stop it! You're making me embarrassed," Pamphilos muttered and pushed his aunt's hands away.
Everyone else seemed to be in a relatively good mood, but Mechanikles didn't feel like returning their smiles. A happy family gathering was something he hadn't been planning on doing any time soon and he could already tell he'd have to delay his plans of killing Aladdin for some time.
"So, you came to see me," he announced in frustration and spread his arms. "Now you've seen that I'm still alive and well and you can return home, am I correct?"
Aspasia looked disappointed. "Don't be like that. We haven't seen each other in such a long time. I have so much to tell you! And besides, I want to take a look at the local girls for Pamphilos. There just aren't any suitable potential wives in Athens at the moment," she said with a disapproving click of her tongue.
"Well, I tried to tell you that leaving unwanted female infants to die in the hills won't do much good to the population, but did anyone listen to me?" Mechanikles pointed out.
"Modern rubbish," Simonides muttered.
"What is he doing here anyway?" Mechanikles eyed the muscular soldier in suspicion. He had never liked Simonides. Not only because he considered the man simple, stupid and annoying, but also because he was the man his little sister had married. He would have much preferred if she had married someone with an IQ higher than a donkey's.
Simonides didn't look pleased. "I don't like it here either," he said roughly. "However, I'm not going to let Aspasia travel alone in her condition."
Mechanikles turned to look at his sister. "Condition? Are you sick?" he asked.
Aspasia chuckled and put her hand on her stomach. "Don't be silly. I'm with child," she said.
"What? You?" Mechanikles knew he was gawking at her, but he didn't particularly care. His sister? Pregnant? She sure didn't look like it.
"Yes," Aspasia remarked dryly. "If you came out of your technology-filled fantasy world for a while, you might notice what goes on in real life. Besides, it's my third child. We tried to send you messages, but you were probably too busy to even notice the carrier pigeons."
Or I used them as target practise for my beetles, Mechanikles thought. Still, his mind was having hard time adjusting to the fact that his sister was currently a mother of two and would eventually have a third child. When had she had time to do that? He glanced at the bee in his hands and started examining it to hide his confusion, some of his previous anger forgotten.
"I'm not hearing the sound of tiny steps," he remarked. If the little buggers even looked at his babies the wrong way, he'd...
"We left them home. They're too young to travel this far and we know how much you dislike children," Simonides said. The look in his pale eyes was stern and Mechanikles suspected that if it was up to the soldier, he would never see his nephews or nieces -- he realised he didn't even know which.
"Hush, you," Aspasia said to her husband and elbowed him. "They are called Hesiod and Sostrate. Twelve and five years of age," she said proudly.
"Quite young to be left on their own," Mechanikles pointed out, but didn't look up from his work. He could remember how attached his sister could get sometimes. There had been a time when she would follow him and his brother around no matter where they went.
"The slaves are taking care of them."
"And you're certain they'll still be alive when you get back?" Mechanikles asked absent-mindedly.
Aspasia sighed. "This didn't start too well, but that's to be expected. Is there something you'd like to hear about home?" she asked.
"When are you going back?" Mechanikles put the bee down and leaned against the desk. His irritation was slowly creeping back and his patience with his relatives was growing thinner. Well, with Pamphilos probably being the exception. The young man had been wise enough to remain silent during the entire exchange.
His sister's shoulders slumped. "So, you really don't want us here?" she asked with a sad frown.
Mechanikles' first thought was to tell her the truth and say that nothing (with the possible exception of Aladdin's head being served to him on a very polished and disinfected platter) would have pleased him more than if they hadn't arrived. He knew, however, that he wouldn't have gained anything by it. No matter how much he desired the opposite, he couldn't just send the travellers back yet. They needed to rest and supply themselves for the return trip.
"At the moment, no. I'm in the middle of finishing my newest invention and don't need any interruptions," he said and crossed his arms.
"Unfortunately for you, we aren't leaving yet," Simonides announced in a stern voice.
"Technically, you are. I have no room for guests here, so you have to find yourself another place for the night," Mechanikles replied.
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"We came all this way here to meet you just because Aspasia wanted to see you again. You could at least pretend to be happy for her sake," the soldier said. His wife nodded with an angry frown on her face.
"Oh, fine," Mechanikles snapped. "But there are rules that you must follow. Don't touch any of my inventions, no matter the situation. Whatever you do, clean after yourself. Lastly, stay out of my way when I'm working!"
He hated the smug look in Aspasia's eyes. Why did she have to be so stubborn and never listen to reason? He sighed angrily to himself and went back to working on his earwig. The laundry was still waiting for its turn, but right now he was feeling so annoyed that working on machines was the only thing that could soothe him.
"He just left us like that," Pamphilos mused.
"Don't mind him. He loves his inventions more than anything else in the world. He was always like that," Aspasia said. Pamphilos noted that his aunt wasn't looking much happier now that they had been allowed to stay.
"Was father like that as well?" he asked. His mother had told him how much technology had meant to him, but he couldn't imagine anyone being that strange over anything. He wondered briefly if it was in the blood. He didn't fancy becoming like that in his later years.
"He was worse," Simonides remarked. "That's what got him killed."
"I doubt he did it on purpose," Pamphilos pointed out. He wasn't really feeling offended. He couldn't remember much of his father and was used to the way Simonides treated everyone who wasn't a soldier. Especially if they degraded themselves by actually working on something.
He had to wonder what they'd do now. They had travelled thinking that surely Mechanikles would have had enough sense to get himself a decent house in fifteen years. The inventor had been right about there not being room for them, unless they wanted to sleep on the floor. Pamphilos didn't really like that idea.
"Of course he didn't," Aspasia told him gently. "As I said, it was an accident." She smiled at him reassuringly and he felt a little annoyed despite himself. Ever since he had turned old enough to think for himself, he had got the feeling that his aunt regarded him as substitute for the brothers she had lost.
"So, what will we do now? Sleep on the floor?" he asked.
"No," Simonides decided for them. "We will set up a camp outside. I'm not sleeping under the roof of someone who doesn't want me or my wife to his place. Once you have settled your business with him, we'll return home."
"But he doesn't mean it like that! I'll talk to him and make him understand," Aspasia said in annoyance. Her husband frowned at her for a moment before he sighed.
"Do you really realise it's been fifteen years? He isn't what he used to be and neither are we. We are older and much has happened. How do you know what he has been through here? Did you think that he would be exactly like back then? People change, like it or not," he said. He didn't give his wife a chance to object, but turned around and returned outside.
Pamphilos drew a deep breath and tried to avoid his aunt's disappointed eyes. Somehow he had the feeling that the next following days wouldn't be the happiest or easiest of his life.
Mechanikles eyed the earwig with a frown. "Hmm. It looks like I'll have to do it the hard way after all," he decided. This little baby had to be perfect if he wanted it to work, and covering it in tight metal plates seemed like the only option to him. Fortunately, he had exactly what he needed in his workshop so he didn't have to make a tiresome trip to buy supplies in Agrabah.
He patted the head of his invention and smiled at it. At least some things were finally going according to his plan. He estimated that if he worked hard and let the dishes and laundry remain unwashed for the time being, he might get the earwig finished in a few days.
"What are you building?" He froze when he heard Aspasia's voice behind him.
"Didn't I tell you I want no interruptions when I'm working?" he asked. He was pleased to notice that she had come alone. The last thing he wanted was that patronizing Simonides to tag along.
"I'm sorry, but I wanted to talk to you. You seem so strange. As if you no longer care about me. I understand that we shouldn't have stormed here like that, but please don't tell me that you didn't want us to come at all," Aspasia pleaded. She looked so worried that Mechanikles couldn't help feeling a little sorry for her. That annoyed him even more.
"I have everything here. I don't need you to make my life more complicated than it already is," he replied.
Aspasia put her hands on her hips. "I only wanted to see you. That’s hardly making things more complicated.”
“To me it is,” Mechanikles pointed out. “But say, now that you're here, what do you think of this?"
His sister blinked and turned her attention to the machine. Her eyes widened and a surprised smile spread on her lips. "It's magnificent!" She ran her hands on the surface and admired the bug. "What does it do?"
Mechanikles smiled smugly, pleased to receive compliments for a change. "Watch," he said and pressed a hidden button near the bug's head. A long sword flew out the thing's mouth and got stuck into the wall. "Of course, once it's activated it can do that and more on its own without my help."
"It's a weapon?" Aspasia asked carefully. Her glee had died and she was looking doubtful again.
"Yes, it is," Mechanikles said happily. He went to pull out the sword -- took quite a lot of effort, that one -- and put it back to its place.
"Why are you building weapons? You didn't do that before," Aspasia pointed out.
"No, but that was what I and Metrophanes were going to do in any case. The other inventions were just to test if the basic systems work," Mechanikles replied. Could his sister really be naive enough to be surprised at this? He had to shake his head to himself. Women and their inferior minds...
"I didn't know that."
A long silence followed. "So, something else you want?" Mechanikles asked.
"You to stop acting like an idiot."
"What?" Mechanikles could hardly believe his ears. His sister actually had the nerve to order him around after she had caused the entire problem by arriving uninvited?
"You heard me. If I had known you would become such a selfish, old man I wouldn't have spent all these years worrying about how you're doing!" Aspasia snapped.
"Well, who asked you to do that? As I said, I'm fine on my own!"
"Why do you think this is all about you? Just because you've decided to be miserable for the rest of your life doesn't mean that you should try to spread it around. It's not just me who wanted to see you. No one knew Metrophanes better than you, so we thought it might be a good idea to bring Pamphilos along. He doesn't remember him at all." An angry flush had spread on Aspasia's face and she kept glaring at her brother.
Mechanikles sighed and rubbed his neck. He was getting tired of this. "I'm sure the boy has heard enough stories by his mother," he replied. "Besides, I'm not interested in talking about Metrophanes."
Aspasia frowned. "Why not?" she asked and Mechanikles felt like throttling her. Hadn't she matured at all? She still reminded him of the spoiled little girl who had thought the world revolved around her and that everyone's main priority was to make her wishes come true.
He crossed his arms. "Because it's unproductive. I don't have time for that kind of nonsense."
"You're impossible!" Aspasia snapped. "I've missed you and you can't even welcome me to your home! It's like you've forgotten that I exist."
"Well, at moments like this I wish you didn't!" Mechanikles said back. "Is it so hard to understand that I'm having a project and couldn't care less about anything else?"
Aspasia bit her lip. "Are you saying you don't care about me anymore?" she asked.
“Well…“
“I know it must be a surprise to have us barge here after such a long time. I wish I could have come sooner, but father wouldn’t allow it.” Aspasia stopped to ponder what she exactly wanted to say. “Look, I know you don’t like being sentimental. Just… don’t be such a stranger.”
"I'm getting a headache," Mechanikles moaned and rubbed his face. Then he suddenly realised something that he should have noticed at once. "You said it was father's idea for you to come. Why? What does he have in mind?" he asked.
"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me when I asked him. I think he's interested in how you're doing. You're his only son now and nobody can hate someone forever," Aspasia replied uncertainly.
"I can. He can. I'm sure he has some hidden motive," Mechanikles said in suspicion and rubbed his chin. He knew his father well enough to realise that there had to be something he wanted. Also, knowing how the old man's mind worked, he had most likely sent Aspasia to get it. She probably had no idea she was being used like that. Mechanikles decided to keep a careful eye on her, just in case.
"Don't be stupid. He must have realised that he's not going to live forever. Maybe he wants to make peace with you?" his sister suggested.
Mechanikles laughed at that. "After I and Metrophanes disgraced the entire family? I don't think so!"
Aspasia looked away all of sudden. "You know... There is something I've wanted to ask you ever since, well..." she started, but she was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.
"Aunt Aspasia, Simonides sent me to say that... um, is this a bad time?" Pamphilos said. His confident tone withered as he came to the conclusion that he had probably disturbed something important.
"Not at all, boy! Your aunt here is just finished with what she was doing," Mechanikles said and pushed Aspasia away to their nephew. She looked bewildered, but didn't object for once.
"We have to let him think," Mechanikles heard her whisper to answer Pamphilos' confused expression. He quite liked that idea and was happy to be left alone again.
Meanwhile, in Agrabah, our heroes were facing a problem of their own.
"Rasoul, I am very disappointed in you," the Sultan said. His voice was a little high and difficult to understand due to the fact that he was pinching his nose. In fact, that was what everyone was doing at the moment.
"But Your Highness, we didn't find it necessary to look into such a matter. There are far more important problems in Agrabah," the Captain of the Guards defended him and his men.
The Sultan didn't look pleased. "But it is the guards' responsibility to keep the dungeons in shape. This place," he pointed at the subject at hand, "is a disgrace. We could never lock up anyone in there!"
"With all due respect, I don't think that would even be necessary. Lately the harshest punishments have been fines or community service. We haven't imprisoned anyone after the Princess made her improvements on some of the laws," Rasoul pointed out. From his voice it was obvious what he thought about said changes.
"That's because most thefts are committed by those in need. We have to help them, not leave them to rot in our dungeons," Jasmine said.
"There are still real thieves and murderers in the streets of Agrabah," Rasoul said.
"Then do something about this place, so that we can lock them up without killing them before their trial!" Jasmine snapped. Her dark eyes flashed angrily at the head guard's stubbornness.
"Now, now, let's not argue about this. But Rasoul, I expect something to be done to these dungeons as soon as possible. No human being could survive in the middle of all that filth," the Sultan said in order to stop the fight that would soon follow if nobody stopped Jasmine and Rasoul.
"He did," Rasoul said and pointed at Aladdin. Everyone understood the meaning behind the guard's words, and Aladdin frowned in annoyance.
"Well, if a little work is too much for you to handle, I can always take the burden off your shoulders," he said and pulled out Genie's lamp. "Genie, we need you to clean up this place."
Genie came out of the lamp with a puff and instantly transformed into a maid with high heels and a feather duster. "Don't worry, Al. I'll have it done within seconds!" he promised enthusiastically. Then he took once sniff at the stench flowing from the dungeons and melted into a puddle of blue goo.
One hand with a raised forefinger rose from the puddle. "On second thought..."
Aladdin sighed to himself. "Now what do we do?"
"It's too much for even the magic freak to handle, but tell me again, why do we care? It's not your responsibility, and take it from me, never do anything that you absolutely don't have to," was Iago's input on the situation.
"That's true, Aladdin," Jasmine said. "Normally, I wouldn't object to helping, but Rasoul has brought this situation upon himself. He has neglected his duties, so it should be him to work this out." She shot a glare at the guard.
"I guess you're right," Aladdin said and grinned at the guard. Rasoul was looking like the least happy person in the world. He had his arms crossed on his chest and only the presence of the Sultan and Jasmine stopped him from giving Aladdin a piece of his mind.
"Did he kick you out?" Simonides asked his wife as she and Pamphilos came outside.
"Don't be silly," Aspasia said. "Oh, you got the camp ready. It looks lovely."
"Never mind that any decent host would have got us a place inside," Simonides pointed out. He simply didn't understand what his wife saw in her brother. To him Mechanikles had never been anything but a weak, deranged fool with ideas too big for him. Sure, the man knew how to build machines, but that was it. He had no other skills.
"I think this might be better in the long run. This is a charming place," Pamphilos said and pointed at the several cypress trees that grew on the grassy hill. "It's just like home."
"Yes, I noticed that too. He must miss Athens," Aspasia sighed. Simonides was more interested in how the freak had managed to make the trees grow in the desert. However, saying that out loud would have resulted in another argument, so he remained silent about it.
"Perhaps we should take him back, then," he suggested instead.
"Why do you say that?" Aspasia eyed him suspiciously and suddenly the soldier wished he hadn't said anything at all. "You know quite well he can never go back," his wife continued.
"That's only as long as certain people are in power," Simonides remarked. "But you're right, of course. It was stupid of me to speak of it."
Aspasia smiled. "Not at all. I know you don't like him but I appreciate the attempt to make me feel better," she said.
"So, what did he say to you?" Simonides asked, happy to be able to change the subject.
"I think he's letting us stay for the time being. You know, no matter how irritated he seems to be, I think a part of him is happy to have us here," Aspasia said.
"You, perhaps," Simonides said. He had no illusions about what the relationship between him and his brother-in-law was. The heated arguments he had had with the inventor back in Athens were still clear in his mind. Whether the subject had been how boys should be schooled or what they'd have for dinner, they had always disagreed.
Aspasia didn't say anything to that. Instead, she turned to Pamphilos. "How much food do we still have left? It would be rude to ask for anything to be prepared this late."
"Your brother wouldn't serve us anything in any case," Simonides said. Everyone ignored him.
"There's enough for this evening, but tomorrow we either need to rely on Mechanikles or go to buy something in the nearest town," Pamphilos said. Both options sounded good to Simonides. Aspasia was good at keeping the household in order, but she was a horrendous cook. During their long journey there had been times when he had almost been ready to swallow his pride and do women's work in order to have something edible in his hands.
"I doubt we need to worry. I heard there is a city called Agrabah nearby," Aspasia said. "Maybe Mechanikles would like to show us around later? I heard these desert kingdoms are fascinating."
To be continued…
Chapter 2: Chapter 2
When Mechanikles woke up the next morning, it felt like he hadn't had any sleep at all. It took him a few seconds before he realised what exactly had woken him up. Someone was marching through his workshop, shouting things that made no sense to him. He got dressed quickly and ran to see what was going on.
What he found was a very unhappy-looking Aspasia, accompanied by Simonides and Pamphilos.
"What is going on?" he asked and looked at the trio in amazement.
"Finally you woke up! Where are your slaves? All I wanted was a little help with breakfast, but nobody would come no matter how loud I called them!" Aspasia complained.
Mechanikles blinked. "That's because I don't have any slaves," he explained.
The others could only stare in shock. "No wonder you're deranged," Simonides muttered.
"But who does all your housework? Mechanikles, you need to buy a slave or two. They could keep everything in order while you play with your machines," Aspasia said. Her tone reminded Mechanikles of his pampering mother.
"Do you have any idea how unreliable they are? They miss spots! They don't swipe the corners! They leave wrinkles in your clothes! No, I've realised that if you want something done well, you have to do it yourself," he said. Then he sniffed in disdain. "Besides, the closest kingdom is Agrabah, and they have all these ridiculous, modern anti-slavery laws. I'd have a certain poofy-haired savage breathing at my neck at once."
"You do your own housework?" Aspasia looked ready to die right there. "You do know what they say about people like that, don't you?"
Mechanikles couldn't believe they were having that argument. "I just don't have slaves! I can do it all on my own and it's not like this is a very big household to take care of!" he snapped.
"But that's like saying you don't wear clothes. Slaves are a basic necessity. Everyone has at least one," Aspasia tried to insist.
"Not here. Only the rich can afford them and even they can't do that in all of the kingdoms," Mechanikles said.
"Then where do we get food?" Pamphilos asked.
"Well, boy, I'm not entirely unprepared. Do you think I live off sand?" Mechanikles couldn't quite keep the annoyance out of his voice. Having people walk into his home was one thing, but having them also judge his lifestyle was more than enough to ruin his morning.
He wasn't feeling hungry, but he led his family to the small storage room where he kept everything unimportant. That is to say, everything that wasn't mechanical. He really hoped his financial situation could take three more mouths to feed, of which at least one looked like it would never get full.
"That's it?" Simonides asked when they got there.
"What did you expect? A prepared meal ready for you to devour?" Mechanikles asked angrily.
"Something other than dried fruit and meat that looks so salty it just might be hazardous to eat!" Simonides snapped back.
"I have to stock food that doesn't rot! I don't leave my workshop too often and definitely not to do some petty shopping!"
"Well, that's not a surprise!"
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Mechanikles had entirely forgotten the presence of anyone but Simonides. How he loathed that man! The idea of letting Scooter slice the soldier into tiny pieces had never felt more appealing. The only thing that stopped him was that, if widowed, his sister might want to move in with him.
"Oh, so our unsocial, egoistical maniac is not as clever as he claims to be!"
"Why, I'll --"
"Will you two stop that? You're being idiots!"
The pair of them actually shut up when Aspasia's shrill voice pierced their skulls. They turned to her and Mechanikles noticed the angry flush on her face. She grimaced then, probably thinking she had offended either or both of them.
"Finally," she said. "Maybe we could send Pamphilos to the nearest town to buy something?"
"Not a bad idea," Simonides agreed.
Mechanikles crossed his arms on his chest. "The nearest city is Agrabah and it's quite a trip. You wouldn't make it on foot today," he said.
"Well, then he's going to have to borrow one of your pretty inventions and ride it there, right?" Aspasia suggested. Both Mechanikles and Pamphilos looked nauseated by the thought.
"I don't know how to do that!" the young man objected.
"I can't let a mere boy touch my babies!" Mechanikles said at the same time.
Simonides rolled his eyes. "Oh, don't be stupid. He's Metrophanes' son. He was born for these things!" he remarked.
"Um, maybe you should be the one to --" Pamphilos tried to suggest, but his aunt got the better of him.
"Indeed! This is the perfect opportunity for him to learn more about mechanics! And he can see the city! Young people should be adventuring," she said enthusiastically.
And so it was decided, even though neither Mechanikles nor Pamphilos was very happy about the idea. The former decided to avoid any further arguments -- he had a lot of work to do, after all -- and let the young man take one of the old bugs he no longer used. The latter, on the other hand, looked like he didn't want to object to both his aunt and uncle.
"I will be back soon," he promised as he climbed on the beetle and grabbed its sides nervously. It flew away. When the duo could no longer be seen, Aspasia turned to Mechanikles in worry.
"Is that thing really safe? I know I wanted him to go, but I didn't know he would have to fly. If he ends up like Metrophanes..." she said.
"Don't you trust me? My machines are perfect! There is nothing to worry about," the inventor said.
Pamphilos swallowed and tried not to look down. He hated heights. His knuckles were white from clutching the beetle's sides and he had made himself a dozen promises about what he'd do if he made it back home alive.
Controlling the bug wasn't as difficult as he had expected. Once Mechanikles had shown him the controls, he had already known what to do. His aunt had been thrilled and congratulated him for being just as good as his father. The thought made Pamphilos frown grimly.
After a few hours, he could spot Agrabah in the distance. The city looked magnificent. The beautiful palace that was looming over the city was just like in the stories he had heard. For a moment the young man was able to forget that he was currently in the air and in the mercy of his uncle's machinery.
Mechanikles had told him not to tell anyone that he knew him, so he landed half a mile away from the city and hid the bug there. The order seemed a little strange to him, but he guessed his uncle had his reasons for wanting to remain relatively unknown.
Once he got to the city, it was easy to forget why he had been sent there in the first place. The buzz of the marketplace was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Dozens of smells unfamiliar to him filled his nose and the way people spoke was charming. He didn't want to keep walking as it seemed to him that he might miss some exotic sight if he didn't stop to look around at every corner.
After some time he became aware of the way people were looking at him. They weren't being unfriendly, but Pamphilos felt very self-conscious all of sudden. He knew he looked a little different from the locals and his clothes betrayed his foreign status. Nobody said anything, though, and he guessed that as long as he stayed out of trouble, he would be fine.
Perhaps it was because of his shyness or something else, but eventually he found himself in a quieter street. There were still people; veiled women and men wearing turbans, but now he no longer had to worry about bumping into someone. Pamphilos breathed a little more freely and looked around.
In front of him there was a high archway. The design was a little different from the others he had seen in the city and he looked at in curiosity. It was shaped like a circle that grew thinner towards the top. The building next to it was newer and higher than the archway. Almost not noticing it, Pamphilos started calculating what changes would have to be done to the archway -- and how much stone you needed -- so that it would match the new building.
When he got that problem solved after about ten minutes, he noticed that the streets were uneven and that there were many back alleys leading nowhere. Fascinated by this realization, he started examining the streets and making calculations and plans about a new structure for them.
Aladdin was having a good and quiet moment. It was just him and Abu, just like it had once been. While he loved Jasmine and his other friends, he sometimes felt the need to spend time alone with his oldest friend. They would walk in the streets where they had once lived and recall some of their best times together.
Abu chattered happily when they got closer to a fruit stand and Aladdin bought his friend an apple before the monkey managed to steal anything. As much as he liked remembering some of their mischief, he didn't want to explain Abu's tricks to anyone at the moment. He had to do that on a regular basis when they visited the marketplace in any case.
"Hey, look at that," he said once they passed an old, deserted house. "Remember when we hid from the guards in there?"
Abu nodded in agreement and took a bite of his apple. He was hanging onto Aladdin's neck with his free arm and looking around in interest. There was a young man standing a good ten feet away and looking at the buildings, but the monkey didn't spare him a second glance. Uninteresting.
Sometimes Aladdin still found himself surprised at how lucky he had been in life. He was in love with the most beautiful woman in the world, he had the best friends a man could wish for and he had literally risen from dirt to riches. Especially now that he and Abu were alone in the streets he found it hard to believe that a mere steetrat could have achieved and done so much.
This rare moment of ponder ended abruptly when he heard a scared howl. He turned around and saw a frightened horse coming right at him. He threw himself against the wall to avoid being stomped on. Only then did he realise that the young man they had seen earlier hadn't moved at all.
He must be frozen with fear, Aladdin realised. Knowing he was risking his own life, he threw himself at the man and pushed him out of the way. Abu let out a loud chatter as the three of them fell to the ground. Aladdin could feel the horse's hooves brush through his hair.
Shaking just a little, he stood up and watched how two men rushed past them after the terrified animal. He brushed sand off his chest and, after making sure Abu was alright, turned his eyes on the stranger.
The young man was still sitting on the ground with a bewildered expression on his face. He looked from Aladdin to the way the horse had run and eventually got a hold of himself and was able to stand up.
"Are you alright?" Aladdin asked when the man still didn't say anything.
"I guess so. Thanks," the stranger said. His voice shook a little.
"Didn't you see the horse?" Aladdin asked.
"What? Oh, no. I was looking at these buildings," the man said and pointed at the houses next to them.
Aladdin lifted a curious brow. He didn't see anything special about the place. It was just like every street in Agrabah. He took another glance at the stranger. He seemed to be about the same age as him, though his build was lankier and his features more angular.
"Why?" he asked.
The other man looked immensely pleased about being asked that. An enthusiastic smile spread on his face and he pointed at the nearest alley. "I was thinking how much more convenient it would be for everybody if those houses were taken apart and built again so that this alley no longer existed. It would provide more room for a better road over there, and that would mean that carriages and camels could enter the marketplace through here instead of having to cross from over there. Also, if everything was re-built so that all the roads are of equal width and in perfect order with each other, the time spent on going from point A to point B would be half from what it's now," he explained. He was speaking so fast that Aladdin had a hard time catching every word.
"Wouldn't that be a little boring?" he had to ask. Personally, he loved the back alleys of Agrabah. They had provided him with a home all those years ago and he didn't want to think where he might have ended up without a place to hide.
The stranger looked startled. "Boring? Not at all! I love order!" he said. "Oh! I'm sorry. How rude of me. My name is Pamphilos. Thank you again for saving my life."
Aladdin had to chuckle at that. "Don't mention it. I'm Aladdin," he said. "You aren't from over here, are you?" Looking at the man's clothes gave him a hint about from what corner of the world Pamphilos was from. Not to mention his name.
"No, I'm from Athens," Pamphilos replied.
"I guessed that much," Aladdin said. That was when Abu grew tired of being ignored and announced his presence by greeting Pamphilos with a lift of his fez.
"Oh, you have a monkey," Pamphilos said. Aladdin thought he could hear some slight uneasiness in the man's voice. No matter how many times it happened, he couldn't help feeling irritated at how some people reacted to his friend.
"Yes, his name is Abu. He doesn't have fleas," he said.
Pamphilos blushed just a little. "I hope I didn't offend. I'm not very used to animals," he said.
"Don't worry. You need to do more to offend Abu," Aladdin said. His friend chattered happily from his shoulder, but didn't try to reach out to the young Athenian. He could sense the gesture wouldn't have been very well received.
"So, what are you doing in Agrabah?" Aladdin asked. It wasn't every day that someone as far away as Pamphilos came to the city. There was of course that one annoying person showing up every now and then, but he didn't like to count Mechanikles in.
"I'm here with my aunt and uncle. We have heard many stories about this area, so we decided to come and see it ourselves," Pamphilos said.
"If you want adventure, you couldn't have picked a better place," Aladdin chuckled. "Trouble has the habit of brewing here almost every day."
Pamphilos didn't look too happy to know that. "I hope nothing happens while I'm around," he admitted.
Aladdin looked at the Athenian in slight amusement. Their personalities couldn't have been much more different, but already he found himself liking the man. Pamphilos had the air of naive honesty around him and it was refreshing to meet someone not tainted by the ugly truths of life.
"How long are you staying in town? I'd like you to meet some of my friends," he said.
That seemed to make the other man recall something and a worried expression spread on his face. "Oh, no! I completely forgot! I was supposed to pick up something to eat!" He slapped his palm to his forehead and cursed to himself. "I'm sorry, I must go. If you want me to, I could come back later. Maybe tomorrow?" he suggested.
"That sounds great. How about we meet at this same spot? I'll bring my friends along. We can show you the palace," Aladdin said.
"You work in the palace?" Pamphilos looked a little surprised at that and glanced at the magnificent towers that were looming over the city.
Aladdin laughed. "No, the Princess is my fiancée," he said.
"You're joking, right?"
"No. You'll see tomorrow."
"Sure. I'm sorry I must go now." Pamphilos rolled his eyes, clearly not believing Aladdin's words. He waved at him as he disappeared behind the corner and returned to the marketplace.
"He seemed like a nice guy, even if a little weird," Aladdin said to Abu. The monkey chattered his agreement. Together they decided to return to the palace to see what the others were doing.
"Where is that boy?" Simonides asked impatiently. "He should have been back a long time ago!"
Aspasia had to admit that she was starting to get impatient as well, though for a different reason. Despite what Mechanikles had said, she didn't feel at ease when thinking about Pamphilos flying. She felt like killing herself for ever letting the young man go.
"I shouldn't have asked him to go to Agrabah," she said sadly. Both her husband and brother glanced at her in annoyance.
"I told you he's going to be fine! Even if he falls and dies, it's not going to be because of my inventions," Mechanikles said.
"But what if something went wrong? You should have made sure he knows the controls properly!" Aspasia snapped.
Mechanikles groaned to himself. Aspasia felt like slapping him. Didn't he realise how worried she was? If something happened to Pamphilos, she would never forgive herself. The young man was all that was left of Metrophanes and she wasn't about to let him suffer his father's fate.
"Maybe we should go and look for him?" she suggested.
"Really, Aspasia, he will be fine. He's not a child anymore and you're not his mother," Simonides pointed out.
"So, now you're against me too?" Aspasia asked. "I wonder what you'd say if it was Hesiod out there."
"I still wouldn't be worried. I wouldn't let my son anywhere if I wasn't sure he could make it," Simonides replied.
"Stop! I'm sick of listening to you argue like a married couple!" Mechanikles snapped.
"But we are a --" Aspasia started, but was interrupted by her brother. He stood up and marched away from the two of them.
"Whatever, just shut up!"
Aspasia sighed. "Did you know that he's working on a killer machine?" she asked then. It was hard for her to accept that her brother, whom she loved, was building something that could take someone's life.
"Really? What is it like?" Simonides asked, turning to her in interest.
Ugh, so like men to be drawn to those things, Aspasia thought in disgust.
"Well, it shoots a sword from its mouth. Apart from that, I don't know. Nor do I want to. Why don't you ask him?" she said. To her surprise Simonides looked thought about the suggestion. "Will you?"
"I'm not sure. It would be interesting, I have to admit," her husband said.
"So, you're interested in his killer bugs, but don't give a damn about him?" Aspasia asked. She watched how Simonides shrugged and she felt annoyed despite herself. There were times when men acted like insensitive pigs.
"What did you mean when you said we should take him back to Athens?" she asked then, remembering the conversation they had had the previous day.
Simonides shrugged again. "Nothing. It was just a thought," he replied.
Aspasia frowned in suspicion. She knew her husband well enough to know that he never said anything he didn't mean. The previous day she had been too happy to pay attention to a seemingly innocent remark, but now she found herself pondering it.
Simonides had said that if different people were in power, Mechanikles might be able to come back. In theory it was possible, but Aspasia didn't hold high hopes. The same families had ruled Athens for long and there was no sign of anyone coming to take their place. Not that she would know about it in any case. Politics were entirely for men and women had no opportunity to get involved.
Still, she promised herself that once she got back home, she'd start paying more attention to what went on. If lucky, she might see or hear something useful.
"I'm back," came a sudden voice and brought her back from her thoughts. A relieved smile spread on her face as she realised that her nephew had returned.
"Pamphilos! I was already getting worried," she admitted as she rushed to greet him.
"You shouldn't have. I had great time. I even met this very friendly man. He invited me to meet his friends tomorrow," Pamphilos said happily. He quickly put down the food he had brought.
Aspasia was beaming and she knew it. Pamphilos was such a loner that sometimes she wondered if he'd ever get involved in any social circles. This was at least a start. "Really? What was his name?" she asked.
"Aladdin. He invited me to the palace and--"
"What?!"
Aspasia, Pamphilos and Simonides all jumped at the outraged shriek coming from the other end of the room. Mechanikles marched over to them and pointed a very accusing finger at Pamphilos. "You met Aladdin?" He was red with fury and from the way his face was twisting in anger made Aspasia fear he might have a stroke right there.
"Uh..." was all Pamphilos could say before his uncle continued.
"You must never ever go back to him! He's an archenemy of this family! I absolutely forbid you from having anything to do with him, unless it's to advance his demise. No, I take that back. He's mine! Only I can have my revenge on him! Me, me!" Mechanikles ranted. He was waving his hands like a windmill in the middle of a storm. Pamphilos kept backing steadily, followed by his uncle, until he met a wall and could no longer escape.
"Is that clear?" Mechanikles finally asked. The frightened young man could do nothing but nod feverishly. "Good. And if I hear that you've gone back to him, I won't let you live through it!" With that the deranged inventor took off back to where he had been working on the earwig.
For a moment there was only silence after his departure.
"Are you now finally ready to admit that your brother has a mental problem?" Simonides asked.
"He didn't mean that, did he?" Pamphilos asked. "He wouldn't really kill me, right?"
"Of course not!" Aspasia huffed. She glared angrily at the direction where her brother had gone. To shock Pamphilos like that. The nerve! She turned back to her nephew and smiled at him. "Don't mind him. He's just jealous. I bet he has been trying to impress that Aladdin and get an invitation to the palace all this time has been here. His ego simply can't take it that you made it first."
"You think so?" Pamphilos asked.
"I'm sure of it. Don't listen to what your uncle says. Go ahead and meet Aladdin tomorrow," Aspasia said firmly.
"Go for it. Why should you let one insane lunatic push you around?" was Simonides' comment.
Pamphilos seemed pleased to hear that. Then his face fell when he remembered something. "But I can't. The only way I can get to Agrabah is to borrow Mechanikles' bugs. I'm sure he won't let me and I don't even want to ask," he said.
"Hmm." Aspasia bit her lip. She made a quick decision. "He doesn't have to know," she said.
"What? Wouldn't that be... stealing?" Pamphilos asked. He was running his fingers through his hair and glancing uncomfortably around.
"No, not really. You're Metrophanes' son, so technically some of these could be yours. Besides, how will you ever become an inventor as good as him if you don't take a look at someone else's work?" Aspasia said enthusiastically. She didn't even notice the pained expression on Pamphilos' face.
"Right..." the young man said.
Mechanikles was fuming. No, that wasn't right. He was about to die of fury. His fingers were twitching and he kept glaring daggers at his own inventions. The desire to kick a beetle or two around had never been stronger and only the mess that would follow stopped him from doing it.
It was unbelievable! One of his own had dared to make friends with Aladdin! "That stupid boy!" he raged to himself, though he didn't know whether he was talking about Aladdin or Pamphilos. Both, probably.
The mere idea of a family member being in good terms with Aladdin was driving him insane. How did Pamphilos dare to mingle with that streetrat? Sure, he hadn't known his uncle would not like it, but the boy should have had common sense. One was never supposed to talk to people who obviously didn't bathe every day.
And that Aladdin! Oh, why did he have to stick his nose into everything? "Couldn't he just mind his own business for one minute?" He leaned against his desk, face twisted with annoyance, and tapped on the floor.
A thought crossed his mind. Perhaps he could use the boy's sudden friendship with his enemy to his advantage? The idea sounded appealing and the expression on Aladdin's face almost managed to make him feel better. However, he soon dismissed the plot. He doubted Aladdin and Pamphilos were friends good enough for there to be any real joy to be gained from the betrayal. Also, he already had a plot going on and he wasn't about to abandon it.
He sighed to himself. The life of a genius was so hard. He turned his eyes to the earwig. Despite the most unfortunate interruption of his family, he had got a nice deal of work done. Almost half of the bug's body was covered in shiny metal plates. It gave the invention a slick look, and while it restricted the weapons a little, it made it almost impossible for someone to get a hold of it.
"I had better get back to work," he said to himself. He went over to the bug and gave it a smile and a loving pat. Soon his beauty would be finished and ready to take care of the meddlesome hero once and for all. While the thought of Aladdin's filthy blood on his machines gave him a few shudders, the enjoyment he would get made it all worth it.
That would also end all unwanted friendships his family might want to develop with the streetrat. A pleased smile spread on his face as he started working.
Simonides was lying awake that night. Aspasia was snoring lightly by his side. He would have liked to turn over and look at her, but he was afraid of the movement waking her up. He didn't want to talk to her at the moment.
He could hear his brother-in-law was still at work, even though it was well past midnight. Last time he had seen the lanky freak he had been muttering something about wanting to set his plan to motion the next day. Whatever that meant, Simonides was sure everyone involved would be in trouble.
When nobody had been paying attention to him, he had stolen a closer look at some of Mechanikles' machines. Even though Simonides was not an inventor and knew near to nothing about technology, he could see that they were very powerful killing machines. In the right hands they would cause more destruction than a small army.
Apparently his brother-in-law didn't have those hands. If he had, surely the Seven Deserts area would have been under his reign by now. Simonides didn't know if Mechanikles lacked the will to conquer anything or whether there was another reason behind his lack of success. He suspected the latter option though, merely because why would anyone spend all their time building weapons if they had no plans of using them?
That was what intrigued him. With Mechanikles on his side, someone could become a great man and defeat all his enemies. Simonides himself was not interested for he wasn't a very ambitious man, but he knew there were others.
He decided to tempt fate and took one glance at Aspasia. She was asleep, her mouth hanging slightly open and her hair a mess. Yes, he had all he needed. A rare smile crossed his lips.
However, not everyone was satisfied with so little. He could remember the words that old Nikias had said him before the trip. "See what my son has been up to. See if taking him back would help our cause." He had accepted the mission gladly. Nikias was a powerful man in the council and his father-in-law to boot.
The question was, what was he supposed to tell the old man once they got back? The truth was that if they brought Mechanikles back with them and convinced -- or forced -- him into building a mechanical army, Athens would be the most powerful city in the world.
Aspasia wouldn't like that, though, and that was what was causing the problem. Simonides didn't care about the fate of his brother-in-law, but he didn't want to see Aspasia suffer again. He had seen quite enough of that when Metrophanes had died and Mechanikles had been exiled.
The soldier had to suppress a sigh. It would have been so much easier if someone had been there to make the decision for him.
To be continued…
Chapter 3: Chapter 3
When the next morning dawned, Mechanikles hadn't slept one minute. The entire night had been spent on working on the earwig. His fingers hurt from handling the metal plates and his eyes ached from the lack of sleep, but he was happy. His baby was finally complete!
"It's perfect!" He grinned to himself as he finished polishing the bug. It was so shiny and clean that he almost felt sorry for having to take it out to the desert. He quickly reminded himself that he'd get it properly cleaned again once it had done its job and killed Aladdin for him.
He suppressed a yawn. Perhaps he'd have to take a well-deserved nap before going after the streetrat. It would be such a pity if he fell asleep right when his beauty was having its way with his enemy. Humming happily to himself, he made his way to his sleeping quarters.
Or rather, tried to make. Before he got there, he was stopped by Aspasia. She was smiling widely and all too happily for Mechanikles' liking. His mechanical eye piece whirred out of his head to examine her. She was most definitely up to something.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"I thought we should spend some time together when we have the chance. We're returning to Athens in a few days, and we still need to get some talking done," his sister informed him brightly.
"Oh, so you're finally returning?" What great news! He'd be able to put his family out of his mind and forget they had ever even visited him. His life would get back to normal again.
Aspasia shrugged. "Yes. We have to if I want to get back home before the baby starts showing," she said, patting her stomach. Mechanikles had completely forgotten that and he didn't like the reminder. Having children was such messy business. Thank all gods he wasn't a woman.
He yawned. "Charming, I'm sure, but I had other plans for the next few hours," he said.
"Really? What?"
"Sleeping. I'm tired." Mechanikles walked past her, not being interested in her response. However, he froze when he heard what she had to say.
"I wanted to ask you about Metrophanes."
"What about him?" He turned back to look at her in suspicion. Hopefully this wasn't yet another attempt to get him to share good memories and recall the old times. He wasn't feeling up for that at all.
Aspasia looked uncomfortable and played with the sleeve of her dress. She drew a breath. "Well... I never had the chance to ask this, but why was it him that tested the machine?"
"You mean why he died and not me?" Mechanikles asked dryly. To be honest, it was a question he had wondered in the beginning as well. While he certainly wouldn't have switched places with his brother, it had seemed unfair that someone with a wife and young son had had to go.
"No! That's not it! I just want to know... I don't know what I wanted to know. Forget that I asked." Aspasia sighed to herself and closed her for a few seconds. She wrapped her arms around her form and the frown on her face made her look like the unhappiest person in the world.
"In case it makes you feel any better, we flipped a coin. We both wanted to be the first to fly. He wasn't even supposed to even go near the city, but his pride got the better of him. He wanted everyone to see what he had achieved," Mechanikles said. "I wouldn't think about it if I were you. It's useless."
"How can you say that? He was your brother! Don't you miss him at all?" Now there was a tad of annoyance in Aspasia's voice.
"I don't want to talk about this!" Mechanikles snapped and continued to his rooms, leaving his sister alone. She glared after him for a while before sighing and shaking her head.
"I hope Pamphilos had the sense to leave now when he wasn't looking," she muttered.
Once alone, Mechanikles realised that sleeping wasn't an option after all. He was tired, yes, but he found it impossible to sit still for one minute. The thought of having a machine ready to kill Aladdin was too exciting to let him be. Also, he desperately wanted something to do so that he wouldn't have to think about what Aspasia had said.
He rushed right back to his workshop and in his hurry he didn't notice one of his beetles missing. "Come, my pet! Together we shall destroy my enemy!" he commanded and hopped on the earwig. He opened one of the plates and pulled a lever. The bug jerked to motion smoothly, letting out no other noise but the clank its feet made against the marble floor.
Aspasia and Simonides ran to him, alarmed by the noise. Mechanikles wondered briefly where they'd lost Pamphilos. Well, he wasn't feeling like seeing the little disappointment at the moment anyway.
"I thought you were going to sleep," Aspasia pointed out.
"There has been a change of plans, sister dearest! Behold my newest creation!" Mechanikles said happily.
Simonides crossed his hands on his chest, though he couldn't quite hide the interested expression from his face. Mechanikles was a little surprised to see that even the muscled fool had realised the merit of his work.
"He's in one of those moods again," the soldier said to his wife who didn't look very happy.
"What are you going to do?" she asked with some worry. "That thing is not safe."
"Safe? Oh, you and your inferior mind! This is not supposed to be safe! It's the epitome of danger! Danger to my enemies and everyone who dares to oppose me!" Mechanikles leaned back and laughed, getting strange glares from the two viewers.
"Uh-huh," Aspasia said dryly.
The inventor stopped and looked at her critically with his eye piece. "I see you don't appreciate my genius," he pouted. "Well, it is of no importance. Once I have gotten rid of my enemy, the whole world will be open for me!" He commanded the earwig take him out of the building. Right before he was outside, he turned back to look at his family.
"Oh, and while I'm gone, please clean up your camp site. I see you've been littering," he said disapprovingly. With that he was quickly out of sight and alone.
Now, he wasn't about to march straight to Agrabah to challenge Aladdin. While that would have been entertaining, he knew his earwig wouldn't be taken seriously in the city. They would just send some of the incompetent guards to deal with him. What he wanted was to be alone with Aladdin and whatever friends the nuisance would drag along this time.
Doing that would not be a difficult task. He only had to lure the fool to a suitable spot in the desert.
The sun was shining on him as he rode the earwig to the place he had chosen. He wiped sweat off his brow and pulled out his scroll. "Next time build something with air conditioning." When he got to his destination, he jumped off his creation and eyed his surroundings with an expectant smile.
They were in a canyon with high walls rising up to the sky. It was a route favoured by caravans from some of Agrabah's neighbour kingdoms. There had once been numerous thieves hiding there like roaches, but the shared effort of the kingdoms had got rid of such a menace.
"Now we'll wait," he told his beauty as he climbed on top of a cliff. It was a difficult task for him as he wasn't an athlete, but when he got there, he realised that it had been well worth the effort. He now had the perfect view.
He instructed the earwig to dive underground. Now it looked like it had never even been there and Mechanikles cackled to himself. Soon his plan would be set to motion!
Turned out that it took a little longer than that, however. After two hours, there still hadn't been a single caravan making its way to Agrabah. Mechanikles yawned to himself. He was leaning against the stone wall and while it wasn't the most comfortable position, he felt like he could no longer keep his eyes open. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.
When he woke up, he was aching all over and it took him a few seconds to realise what was going on. The horrified screams that rang in his head didn't help to make the matter any clearer. He blinked and then turned to look at the direction of the voices.
His heart jumped. A caravan had tried to walk through the canyon while he had been asleep, and his earwig had attacked them all on its own. At the moment it was chasing two men towards Agrabah. Both were bleeding and their clothes were torn. If the earwig had continued pursuing them, they would have had no chance. However, Mechanikles called his creation back. He wanted those men to spread word in Agrabah.
"Oh, I'm so proud of you!" he exclaimed happily as he gazed down on his invention. He climbed down to the ground and hugged it like a proud father. Then he turned to look at the scene. The caravan had dropped many of their packages and the canyon was in a state of horrible disorder.
Mechanikles frowned to himself. "No, this won't do. We can't have Aladdin's death scene be played in this mess!" He quickly started collecting the merchandise and building neat piles out of it.
"So, where were we supposed to meet this new friend of yours?" Iago asked. He was sitting on Aladdin's shoulder and gawking around. There was nobody matching Aladdin's description in sight.
"Right here," the young man said, pointing at the street the group was standing in.
The parrot snorted. "Oh, really nice. A dirty back alley with rotting trash at every corner. No wonder he's not here. I wouldn't have come either if someone had asked me to meet him in a place like this!" he said.
Abu chattered a response and rolled his eyes from Aladdin's other shoulder.
"Right, almost forgot. He met the monkey too. Now we can be sure he's not coming back," Iago said.
"Oh, be quiet," Aladdin said. "Pamphilos is just late, that's all." He was not having any doubts about the other man arriving. He had seemed like an honest guy.
He glanced over to Jasmine. She was wearing the clothes he had dubbed 'the market outfit' so that she wouldn't attract too much attention. She had been delighted to hear they'd be receiving a foreign guest. Even after her life had become considerably less restricted, she was still curious about places she had never seen.
"Is that him?" she asked pointing to an advancing figure. Aladdin turned to look and saw a lanky young man who was glancing around uncertainly and looking like he wasn't sure he was in the right place.
"That's him," he said and waved to the man. "Hey, Pamphilos! Over here!"
A relieved smile spread on the Greek's face and he hurried to them. "Sorry I'm late. I got a little lost. I'm horrible with directions," he apologized.
"It's no problem. It's not like any of us was impatient or anything," Aladdin said with a glance to Iago's general direction.
"Oh, sure. Everyone blame the parrot," Iago said, though he wasn't sounding particularly annoyed anymore.
"Pamphilos, this Jasmine, my fiancée. You already know Abu and this little sunshine is Iago," Aladdin introduced. They had agreed to save Genie and Carpet for later as they didn't know what Pamphilos' reaction to magic might be. The last thing they wanted was him to panic in public.
"Nice to meet you," Pamphilos said, turning to look at everyone. He still looked nervous, much more so than the previous day.
Aladdin frowned to himself. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
"What? Oh, no! Not at all. Or... um, maybe. I'm not really supposed to be here. My uncle would throw a fit if he knew," Pamphilos said sheepishly and rubbed his neck. He couldn't meet anyone's eyes.
"Why? Does he have something against Agrabah?" Jasmine asked. She didn't sound offended, even though it had been implied that someone detested her kingdom.
Pamphilos blushed a little. "No, I don't think so. He's probably just over-protective," he said. Aladdin found it a little odd that someone would worry that much over a man of his age, but he didn't comment on it. Maybe they had different kind of traditions over where Pamphilos was coming from.
"Well, you shouldn't worry about that. We won't tell him," he said cheerfully. "Now, are you ready to see the palace?"
"You're still trying to make me believe that she's a princess?" Pamphilos asked, pointing at Jasmine. She didn't look very impressive in her common clothes.
She smiled at him in slight amusement. "Looks can be very deceiving," she said. "Come. I'll show the way."
Boy, is he in for a surprise, Aladdin thought as they walked towards the palace. He noticed that Pamphilos was keeping a slight distance from everyone else and kept glancing around nervously. Something had to be bothering him.
"So, what do you think of Agrabah?" Jasmine asked.
"It's fascinating. Your architecture is so different from what I'm used to. Especially the palace. I love the round shapes and the towers," their guest replied. "The market is a little too crowded for my liking, though."
"Really? I love the buzz of people," the Princess said.
"I don't. It makes me feel uncomfortable to be surrounded by too many people," Pamphilos admitted.
Jasmine smiled at him. "Then you'll love the palace. There is so much extra space that you can easily get lost," she said.
"You know, you can stop this palace joke now. I may be new here, but even I know that princesses don't just walk around among the common folk," Pamphilos said, sounding a little irritated.
Iago landed on his shoulder and smirked at him. "You're a slow one, aren't you, kid? Look at her! Do you think a regular street mouse has that kind of skin or hair?"
"How should I know? I'm not an expert on women," Pamphilos offered.
"What a surprise," Iago muttered to Abu who chattered in amusement. Even Aladdin had to smile.
"Come on, why would we lie? And I told you, strange things can happen in here," he said.
They had now arrived to the gates. Iago flew over them to inform the guards of their arrival. His loud "The Princess wants in!" was easily audible to the other side. The gates started opening slowly, and at the same time Pamphilos' expression turned into wonder.
He turned to gawk at Jasmine. "You really are a princess?" he asked.
"Told you so," Aladdin chuckled. They walked inside and the gates were closed after them. Aladdin noted how Pamphilos was looking at everything like he was a man whose eyes had just been opened after years of blindness. It amused him a little, partly because sometimes even he found himself surprised by the palace's beauty.
"I'm so sorry!" Pamphilos hurried to say to Jasmine. He bowed in a hurry. The flush on his face told everyone just how embarrassed he was.
Jasmine laughed. "Don't worry. I wasn't offended. And you don't have to sound so formal. I'm just a human, too," she assured. She left them for a while to change back to her harem outfit and Aladdin led their small group to the gardens. He figured that was the best place to talk.
"I feel really stupid," Pamphilos admitted when they had settled down.
"You shouldn't. It must have looked like we were just joking. I wouldn't have believed myself either," Aladdin said. Truth to be told, he was starting to get a little tired of Pamphilos' attitude. Sure, he had been wrong. So what? It wasn't the end of the world.
Suddenly there was loud buzzing next to his ear. "Psst! That's him?" a mosquito-shaped Genie asked.
"Who else?" Iago replied.
"I think there's a huge bug right next to your face," Pamphilos said and pointed at Genie. He hadn't yet realised that he wasn't dealing with an ordinary insect. That would soon change.
With a loud puff Genie transformed into his real form. "So, you're the guy Al was talking about!" Within a second he turned into Socrates and gave the guest a wide smile. "Does this make you feel at home? Or are you a supporter of Plato instead?"
Pamphilos backed away until he almost fell into the fountain. He had a terrified expression on his face and it looked like he might faint. "Uh..." he managed to say.
Genie-Socrates' face fell. "Never seen magic before, huh?" he asked. He puffed back to his original form.
Pamphilos could only shake his head.
"Well, no worries!" Genie turned into a male high school teacher with glasses, a blackboard and a pointer. "We'll have you educated in no time!" With another puff Pamphilos was sitting behind an old school desk. This was when Aladdin decided to interfere before their guest died of shock.
"Genie, I think that's enough for a start," he said with a chuckle. Genie turned back again and all the magical items disappeared, making Pamphilos fall to the ground. He got up quickly and dashed farther away from Genie.
"What is that?" he asked in fright.
"Not what, who. As for the answer, just call me Genie; your regular, magical jack-of-all-trades," Genie said brightly.
"You don't have to be afraid of him. Genie is a friend," Aladdin assured. Pamphilos didn't look convinced, but he did manage to get something like a smile on his face when he turned back to Genie.
"My apologies. I've never seen anyone like you before," he said.
"Well, they say I'm one of a kind," Genie replied modestly and checked his nails. "But hey, you haven't seen good old rugman yet!"
"More magic?" Pamphilos asked. Right then Carpet came from behind a tree where he had been hiding. He landed a few feet away from Pamphilos and looked up at him in curiosity. Perhaps he was a little nervous too, considering how the Athenian had reacted to Genie. He shouldn't have had to worry. Pamphilos looked relieved to see him and Aladdin suspected he had been expecting something awful.
"I think that's it for the surprises," he said. "We didn't want to introduce Genie and Carpet to you before because we didn't know how you'd take them."
"That was wise," Pamphilos admitted. "I still can't believe I'm standing this close to something magical!"
"You have no magic in your homeland?" asked Jasmine, returning to the others. She was now wearing her regular harem outfit and looked like a real princess again.
"We do, but I've never dealt with it myself. I prefer staying in the city where nothing strange ever happens," Pamphilos replied.
"You know, I think I'm starting to like this guy," Iago said.
They settled down and Jasmine ordered some fruit to be served to them. Abu and Iago devoured their share in an instant, but nobody else seemed to be very hungry. Aladdin noted how Pamphilos didn't even take a bite of his apple, merely played with it in his hands.
He glanced over at Jasmine who shrugged helplessly. Aladdin doubted it was their company that was making their guest so withdrawn, but he had no idea what he could do about it.
Fortunately, Jasmine, being the diplomat, saved the situation. "How long are you planning on staying in the area?" she asked.
"Not very long. I think we might be returning in a few days," Pamphilos replied.
"Oh? That's a pity," the Princess said.
"Not really," their guest said. Within a second he seemed to realise what he had said and corrected himself quickly. "I mean, not that it wouldn't be nice to learn to know the city and people a bit better, but I don't really like travelling."
"Then why did you come here?" Aladdin asked. He couldn't understand how someone couldn't like travelling. Had he been able, he would have spent all his time exploring strange lands and kingdoms with Jasmine.
The question seemed to surprise Pamphilos and it took a few moments before he replied. As if he needed time to come up with a good answer, Aladdin noted.
"My aunt insisted on it. When she gets something in her head, there is little anyone can say about it," the Athenian said.
"Ooh, sounds like someone I know," Genie said and winked at Jasmine.
There was a moment of silence, so Aladdin decided to change the subject. "I think Jasmine would be interested in hearing your plans for re-building the streets of Agrabah," he said.
Jasmine turned to look at him with lifted eyebrows, but her smile didn't disappear for a second. "Oh, yes, that would be delightful," she said politely.
Pamphilos didn't need to be told twice. He got into a passionate monologue about how much easier the everyday life would be if all streets were in perfect lines, if there were no back alleys taking space and creating a breeding ground for problems, if angular shapes were used instead of round and if a bridge was built over the marketplace so that traffic could pass it without bothering the trade.
"All in all, the city would be much more organized that way," he said. That was when he seemed to realise that Jasmine hadn't said anything but "Really?" and "Interesting" for the entire time, that Iago was snoring loudly and that everyone else's eye lids were drooping.
He grinned sheepishly. "I'm boring you, aren't I?"
"Of course not!" Jasmine hurried to say, but Aladdin had to admit that her act wasn't quite flawless.
"No, it's alright," Pamphilos assured. "I'm used to it. But I see I've been the subject all this time. I don't want to take all the attention, so why don't you talk about yourselves now? For example, are the tales of adventure true?"
"I thought you didn't like adventures," Aladdin said.
"No, but hearing about them is different than having them."
"Hey Al, why don't you tell him about the time when Mozenrath tried to make his Wind Jackal destroy Agrabah?" Genie suggested. He quickly transformed his head into that of Mozenrath's and did his best imitation of the sorcerer.
The next hour was spent with everyone telling about their favourite adventures to Pamphilos and Genie acting out various scenes to make them seem more real. Everyone was having fun and all earlier tension was gone. Genie even managed to make the Athenian laugh at his imitation of Abis Mal.
"Are all these stories true?" Pamphilos asked after Iago had told him about the time when he had almost been turned into stone -- though Aladdin noted that the parrot made his slight changes to the story to make himself look better.
"Of course. I told you life here is exciting," Aladdin said.
"Aren't we missing someone?" Iago realised suddenly. "You know, someone evil and insane?"
Genie started counting the villains with his fingers. "Mozenrath, Mirage, Saleen, Abis Mal... Oh, Al! We haven't told Pamphilos how Mechanikles tried to iron the desert!" With a puff he had turned into his version of the inventor and started his imitation of the Greek's rant about hating wrinkles and bumps.
The smile on Pamphilos' face froze and died. The young man was staring at Genie with a look of horror and Aladdin realised that Mechanikles wasn't probably the best subject of their stories.
"Genie," he said and gestured his friend to stop. Genie understood the message and puffed back to his true form.
"Sorry about that," he said to Pamphilos and smiled. "That wasn't meant to say anything about your people. Mechanikles is a rotten egg." To emphasize his words, he changed into a huge basket of old eggs left in the sun for too long. Everyone had to cover their noses.
"Genie!" Aladdin said again, more sternly this time. He proceeded with telling Pamphilos about their fights against Mechanikles and how the inventor had tried to take over Agrabah. He noted that Pamphilos was looking sicker with every word and Aladdin starting getting worried the young man might throw up.
Fortunately, the situation didn't go any further because the Sultan came running to them. "Aladdin!" he said. The tone of his voice told everyone that something was going on.
Aladdin was the first to get to his feet. "What is it?" he asked.
"I was just informed that some merchants have been attacked in the desert. Nobody was killed, but they lost almost all of their merchandise. Also, they claim that a huge monster did it," the Sultan explained.
Well, I thought this day was starting to look abnormally peaceful, Aladdin thought. "I'll take a look," he promised. "Come on, Carpet!" Within a minute he and all his friends were ready to go.
"I think you should stay here with the Sultan," he told to Pamphilos who looked lost in the middle of all the action.
"No, I think I should return to my family. I've been away for too long," the Athenian said.
"That's not a good idea. You're staying outside of Agrabah, right? As long as the monster is on the loose, it's not safe to leave the city. Stay here, we'll be back soon," Aladdin said.
"But --" Pamphilos tried to insist, but the heroes had already flown away.
What a time for the monster to appear, Aladdin thought as they were flying towards the canyon. They hadn't seen any signs of anything strange yet, and the desert looked peaceful in all directions.
"I wonder what kind of creature it is," Jasmine said. "Father didn't say anything about it."
"It's probably one of the sand creatures that roam the deserts. What else could it be?" Aladdin replied.
Iago glared at him in irritation. "Do you really have to ask? Knowing our luck, it's huge and evil with big teeth and an appetite for the avifauna!" he snapped.
"Nah, it can't be that bad. I mean, how many times have we faced anything that wanted to eat you?" Genie asked and pulled a complete episode guide from his pocket. Iago tried to take a look, but Genie quickly snatched the guide from him. "No, no, birdman. You don't want to spoil next week's episode, do you?"
With that he flipped through the guide until he slammed it shut which caused it to disappear. "Well, I guess you were right," he admitted with a smile. "Whatever we're going to find is most likely going to make barbecue out of you."
"I knew it! I should have stayed at the palace!" Iago snapped. He might have continued with that, but Aladdin gestured everyone to be silent. They were now in the canyon and Carpet slowed down.
"I don't see anything," Jasmine whispered.
"Good, maybe it's gone," Iago said.
A minute later they arrived to the spot where the merchants had been attacked. "This must be the place," Aladdin said, glancing around.
Genie left the others to go and admire a neat pile of purple silk. "Hey, look at this. The monster was nice enough to collect the fallen merchandise so that it won't be ruined," he observed.
Aladdin looked at the perfect piles of goods and frowned to himself. Something was wrong. "This is not natural," he said. "Either someone gathered them so that they can come back for them later, or we're dealing with --"
He was cut short when something attacked them from below. They all fell off Carpet and scattered around the sandy ground. Aladdin shook his head to clear his thoughts and quickly glanced around to see if his friends were alright. Nobody seemed to be hurt, so he turned his eyes to their attacker.
A slender mechanical earwig stood before him. It had appeared from underground with no warning. The thing had little feet, two sharp stingers at the end of its tail, vicious-looking tusks and it was currently standing still, as if anticipating their next move.
"Mechanikles," he finished his earlier sentence and scanned around to find the inventor. He shouldn't have bothered because a fit of maniacal laughter revealed the Greek's position soon enough.
"You again!" Aladdin heard Jasmine snap. She was the first to stand up and was glaring furiously at the enemy.
"Indeed, Princess! Though I can promise you, this will be the last time!" Mechanikles declared as he grinned down on them.
"What do you want?" Aladdin asked. He stood up as well and went to Jasmine. He glanced at the earwig but kept his attention on the lunatic. The machine was different from the ones they had faced before, but -- unless Mechanikles had some new tricks up his sleeve -- he doubted it would cause too big of a problem.
Mechanikles smirked at him. "Why, isn't that obvious? Kill you, of course! Getting rid of the Princess and putting a stop to the royal bloodline is a nice plus, too."
"That is not going to work!" Aladdin promised. It was nothing new, but threatening Jasmine always angered him. Much more than it seemed to affect her, in fact.
"Oh, really?" was Mechanikles' calm answer and the next thing Aladdin knew was that the earwig was moving again. At first he didn't know what the thing could do since it lacked most of the outer weapons he had expected. However, he learned the answer very soon when the thing smashed him to the ground with one swift slash of its tail.
"Aladdin!" Jasmine exclaimed and ran to him.
"I'm alright," Aladdin muttered through gritted teeth as he got up. His back and chest protested against the sudden movement, but it didn't feel like anything was broken. "Watch out!" he called suddenly when the bug was attacking them again. He pushed Jasmine out of the way and rolled over, just in time to avoid another blow.
"Give up, street rat! You can't win this time!" Mechanikles taunted, but Aladdin ignored him. He backed away from the earwig until he had the chance to eye it more carefully. The tail was the most dangerous part. It was flexible, fast and he didn't want to know what the stingers would feel like.
The machine was completely covered in metal plates and he couldn't think of a way to get under them to the machinery. The only possible weakness could be the mouth. On the other hand, if it wasn't covered there had to be some nasty surprise waiting for him.
"Genie! We need to stop it!" he shouted at his friend.
"I'm on it, Al!" Genie turned into his trademark cowboy and threw his lasso around the earwig's neck. "Yeehaaw!" The earwig struggled and pulled, but couldn't get rid of the trap it had fallen into. While Genie was keeping it busy, Aladdin took his chance and leapt on the bug's back.
"Whoa," he said when he realised how smooth the surface actually was. It was nearly impossible to remain riding when the thing was moving. He tried to find a way to push his fingers under the plates, but there was nothing. I need something I can stuff into the mouth, he realised. Experience had shown him that pushing things into Mechanikles' inventions usually made them blow up.
Unfortunately for him, at that exact moment the earwig slashed its tail at Genie's lasso and cut the rope. Genie flew backwards into the canyon wall and the machine was free again. Aladdin grabbed the rope that was still around its neck and that was the only thing that stopped him from flying right over the thing's head.
"Aladdin!"
He turned his head to where Jasmine was. "I'm alright!" he assured her. The earwig was having trouble now that its main target was out of sight. It wasn't attacking anything at the moment, only glancing around. Aladdin doubted it actually saw anything, though. Not even Mechanikles could make machines act like living things.
"He's on your back! Smash him!" the inventor shrieked from above them. Aladdin didn't remain in one spot long enough to see if the machine responded to its master’s voice, but took his chance and jumped off the thing's back. Not a second too soon. Before he had even picked himself up from the sand, he could hear the thud from the earwig's tail hitting its back.
One point for us, he realised when he saw the dent the bug had given itself.
Mechanikles wasn't feeling happy. "No! Don't hit yourself!" he screeched feverishly at his invention. "Him!" He pointed a finger at Aladdin. The young man had returned to his friends by now.
"We've got to get something into its mouth. It's our only chance," he was telling them.
"Then what's the problem? Can't he come up with something?" Iago asked and pointed at Genie who had got himself back together.
"That'll be easy!" Genie promised enthusiastically.
"Then do it fast! It's getting closer!" Iago shrieked. Everyone scattered when the earwig attacked them again. It concentrated on Aladdin which gave Genie a chance to do his trick. While Aladdin dodged yet another attack, Genie turned into a wooden cork and jumped into the earwig's mouth.
"Alright!" Aladdin exclaimed, but it was too soon. The earwig shot a long sword out of its mouth and impaled Genie-cork on the wall.
"Are you alright?" Jasmine asked in worry and ran to their blue friend. He was looking a little dizzy, but turned back to himself with a puff.
"I don't want to see a wine bottle opener ever again in my life!" Genie announced and made sure there were no marks on his chest. "That idea didn't work after all. We have to come up with something else."
"Can't you just blow it up? You know, with those fire crackers you have," Iago asked.
An expression of enlightenment appeared on Genie's face. "Oh, you mean dynamite! Yes, that would work." Then his expression darkened. "But first we've got to slow it down a little." He pointed at Aladdin who was doing his best at avoiding the earwig's attacks.
"This new toy of yours is just like the other ones! It's going to break down sooner or later!" Aladdin taunted as he jumped out of the tail's way.
"Oh, really?" Mechanikles asked, sounding bored. "Then why is it giving you so much trouble?"
"It's not! I'm just getting warmed up."
Suddenly, the machine stopped, lifted its head and shot something to where Aladdin's head was. He leapt to right. When he turned back to look, he saw that the wall was melting away with an angry hiss.
"By the way, did I mention that this beauty spits acid?" Mechanikles asked.
"You know, I have the feeling that your brother is causing trouble somewhere right now," Simonides said to Aspasia. They had just finished looking around their camp site in search for the trash Mechanikles had mentioned, but had found nothing worth picking up. Now they were enjoying what they knew to be a rare moment alone.
Aspasia laughed. "Don't be silly! He's such a warm-hearted spirit! He couldn't hurt a fly." She bent closer to give her husband a soft kiss. "I bet he's just playing somewhere with his toys."
Back with Aladdin's friends, Jasmine came up with an idea. "I know! Look at its legs! If we turn it on its back, it shouldn't be able to get back up again! Then we can destroy it," she exclaimed.
Iago didn't look impressed. "Come on! That's such an old --" he started, but Abu interrupted him by kicking him off the rock they were both sitting on.
"Good idea!" Genie agreed. "I know how to do it!" With that he flew to the purple silk that had stood ignored during the encounter. He opened one pelmet and spread it on the ground. Then he turned into a miner with a shovel and quickly covered the fabric.
"I know what you're thinking," Jasmine said. She, Abu and Iago ducked out of sight while Genie took the form of Aladdin, just like when they had fought Jafar in the past.
"Yoo-hoo, ugly! I'm here!" he shouted and waved at the earwig. The machine turned its head in confusion, not knowing what to do with two different Aladdins. The real one took this moment to creep away from the bug and ran to Jasmine.
"What are you doing?" he asked. He hadn't had the time to see what his friends were up to.
"Watch," was all that Jasmine said.
Now that there was only one Aladdin left, the earwig had no trouble deciding what to do. It rushed to Genie-Aladdin, despite the angry orders of its creator. Mechanikles had seen everything from above and knew his masterpiece was heading for a trap.
"No, don't go there! It's not him!"
Fortunately, the machine didn't listen. Once it lay its feet on the sand-covered silk, Genie grabbed the fabric and pulled hard. The earwig lost its balance, did a mighty spin in the air and landed perfectly on its back. It tried to get up, but its short feet were of no use.
"Yes!" the heroes cheered and rushed over to the defeated machine. Jasmine was the first, happy for that her idea had worked so well. She turned back to look at Aladdin and opened her mouth to say something.
Aladdin was the first who saw the danger. "Jasmine, look out!" he warned when the earwig drew back its tail and slashed with it. Due to the unfortunate position of the bug, the hit wasn't as strong as it could have been, but still enough to smash Jasmine against the wall. She let out a pained moan and collapsed to the ground.
The earwig completely forgotten, Aladdin rushed to her side. She was awake, but so dazed that she couldn't respond to his call. She had hit her head on a sharp rock and a small trickle of blood was flowing down her temple.
"Jasmine, speak to me! Are you alright?" Aladdin asked feverishly. He had collected her in his arms and all he could think about was her safety. Why had he let her come along? He should have known that this adventure would be too dangerous for her! What would he do if she had got badly hurt?
What would he have done if she had died? No, he didn't want to think about that.
"I'm fine," Jasmine muttered dizzily. She tried to get up, but Aladdin forced her back down.
"No, lie still. I don't want you to get any more hurt," he said.
An annoyed frown appeared on Jasmine's face, but she didn't resist for once. Aladdin knew he would be in for a scolding once she got better, but at that moment he was too worried to care about that.
While he had been paying attention to Jasmine, Genie had planted a tube of dynamite into the earwig's mouth. He grabbed Iago, Abu and Carpet, flew over to Aladdin and Jasmine and turned himself into a huge blue bomb shelter to cover them.
There was a loud boom, a desperate "No! My baby!" from Mechanikles and the evil machine was no more. Broken pieces of metal fell on them as they got up. Jasmine tried to say that she could stand on her own, but Aladdin insisted on her leaning on him.
"Well, that's another evil ploy stopped," Genie said in satisfaction. "Hey Jasmine, are you alright?"
"Yes, just a little dizzy," she replied.
Genie turned into a handsome young doctor. He winked at Jasmine as he said, "Ah, good thing nothing worse happened. My treatment will have you in perfect shape in no time!"
Aladdin wasn't sharing his friend's enthusiasm. He felt angry and frustrated. Jasmine had been in danger many times before, but it wasn't every day that she got hurt on their adventures. He felt like a fool for not realising that something was bound to happen sooner or later. I should have taken better care of her, he thought to himself.
He glanced to where he had last seen Mechanikles. To his surprise the inventor was still there instead of having fled with the help of his other inventions. He felt a new kind of hatred for the villain. Jasmine should have never got hurt just because the lunatic wanted to have revenge on him.
"Carpet, take me up there," he told his friend. Carpet jumped a little with surprise and looked at him with a questioning pose.
"What are you going to do?" Jasmine asked.
"Someone could have got killed just now. It could have happened before and it could happen next time. I'm going to stop him before something really happens," Aladdin said darkly. He hopped on Carpet who took him to where Mechanikles was.
The Greek was currently writing down something and muttering to himself. "Never ever be cocky enough to forget an escape plan." When he noticed Aladdin, he took a look at the young man with his eye piece.
"What do you want, boy? You may have won now, but next time --" he started in irritation, but Aladdin didn't let him finish.
"There won't be another time! I'm taking you to Agrabah so that you can be sentenced for your crimes," Aladdin said sternly.
"What? You can't do that!" Mechanikles looked appalled that Aladdin would even suggest such a thing. "I'm not a common criminal!"
"No, you're a safety hazard!" Aladdin wasn't really in the mood to listen to Mechanikles' worthless blabbering, so he just caught the weaker man by his tunic and pulled him on Carpet. The Greek tried to fight back, but it was a lost cause. He could do nothing to Aladdin.
When they got back down, Aladdin realised that everyone was staring at him. "What?" he asked. "We should have got him locked up a long time ago."
Genie scratched his chin. "I know, Al. It's just so strange to see you blow up like that," he said.
"Yeah, well, I've had enough of his plots. He's too dangerous to be let roam free," Aladdin said. Now that he thought about it, he realised that if they had tried to capture Mechanikles before and not just stop him, Jasmine wouldn't have got hurt at all. Why had he been so stupid? He wondered briefly what the Sultan would say.
"Let's get back to Agrabah," he decided.
The trip was unusually quiet. Jasmine was having a headache and didn't feel like talking, Aladdin was too wrapped up in his dark thoughts to say anything, Mechanikles was sulking and spreading bad mood all around and even Genie thought it was the best to remain silent.
To be continued…
Chapter 4: Chapter 4
Pamphilos wasn't feeling very comfortable. The Sultan was a very nice man and had been delighted to show him around the palace and tell him about its history. However, the young man was too worried to enjoy this opportunity. He couldn't stop thinking about what would be waiting for him if his uncle found out where he had gone.
Right now they were looking at the Sultan's toy collection. Despite his state of mind, Pamphilos couldn't help being impressed. Whoever had made the toys had been a master at his art.
The Sultan showed him a mechanical elephant. "This is one of my favourites," he said. The toy's trunk and tail moved when he pushed a hidden button.
"It's beautiful," Pamphilos said politely. "My father used to make similar toys to me when I was a child."
"Really?" The Sultan looked interested. "He is a toy maker?" He put the elephant back.
Pamphilos shook his head. "No, he was an inventor."
"Oh," the Sultan said, understanding the meaning of the words. "I'm sorry, my boy."
"It's alright. I was very young when it happened," Pamphilos said with a smile. He had to admit that it was a little uncomfortable to have people feeling sorry for him all the time. He didn't know how to miss someone he could hardly remember, and yet that was exactly what everyone was expecting of him. It made him feel guilty.
"Do you mind me asking what happened?" the Sultan asked carefully.
"No, don't worry, Your Highness. My father and his brother had built what they liked to call a mechanical bird. My father took it for a test fly, got a little careless and decided to fly through the city to show off to everyone." Pamphilos had to snort at that. He was happy for not inheriting the megalomaniacal tendencies of his father and uncle. "Something went wrong and the machine crashed in the middle of the marketplace. My father died and took quite many others with him."
"That's terrible!" the Sultan exclaimed.
Pamphilos didn't really know what to say to that. He decided to remain silent, guessing that the Sultan would understand. The old man was a little eccentric, but he could sense that there was hidden wisdom underneath all that.
Fortunately, he didn't have to come up with anything to say. A tall and slim guard came to announce that Aladdin had returned and had brought a prisoner along. The Sultan's presence was required, and since nobody seemed to have anything against it, Pamphilos hurried along.
When he got outside, he was in for a shock. Jasmine had been hurt and the Sultan had run directly to her, but that was only a portion of his surprise. The fact that his uncle was there, fuming and looking mad enough to kill someone, was the main reason.
I can't let him see me, he thought and tried to hide behind the guard.
"Aladdin, what happened?" the Sultan asked.
"The monster was one of Mechanikles' inventions. We destroyed it, but Jasmine got hurt. Genie says she'll be fine, but I thought it would be best to have Mechanikles locked up before he makes something worse happen," Aladdin replied.
"I agree. This has gone far enough. Guards, take him to the dungeon! We'll hold a trial later," the Sultan decided. Rasoul grabbed the thin Greek, getting an angry "Keep your hands off me!" in return. The guard only grinned, not at all affected by the smaller man's anger.
Pamphilos didn't know what to do. Having heard Aladdin and the others tell that his uncle was a villain was one thing, but actually witnessing it was entirely different. The only thing he knew for sure was that he didn't want anyone to know of their relation.
"Hey, you!"
Pamphilos woke from his thoughts with a start when he realised that his uncle had called out to him. He turned to look, and to his horror he saw that he had been seen. Rasoul was dragging the fighting and clearly angry Mechanikles away, but everyone had realised that he had addressed Pamphilos.
"Do you know him?" Aladdin asked suspiciously.
Pamphilos swallowed. "I... uh, no! I've never seen him before! He must be Spartan. They're all villains like that!" he explained quickly. Judging by the angry shouts, Mechanikles had heard that. Fortunately, Rasoul shut him up before he could reveal anything crucial.
"I guess he just though I'd... help him or something," Pamphilos continued. He knew that his story was thin and that everyone could see through it, but luck was on his side. Everyone was so worried about Jasmine that they didn't have the interest to question him any more.
He watched how servants came to take Jasmine away. She tried to resist and tell them that she was fine and that she only needed some sleep, not medical attention. The two men of her life, her father and fiancé, had decided otherwise and this time she had no choice but to submit to their wishes.
Aladdin rubbed his temples. "What a mess," he muttered. "I guess you had better return to your aunt and uncle. They must be getting worried."
Pamphilos jumped. "What? Oh, yes, true! I'll be going now. Thanks for everything and, um... Never mind." He didn't bid proper farewell but left the palace as fast as he could.
"Pamphilos was acting very strange. What was wrong with him?" Aladdin pondered out loud.
Genie turned back into Socrates. "Hey, don't ask me. I don't know anything."
"Get in there!" Rasoul bellowed and pushed Mechanikles into the cell. He chained the inventor to the wall from his wrists. The heavy door was then banged shut and locked behind the Greek's back.
"Well," he huffed to himself. Then his mind and nose registered his surroundings; the blackened stones and chains, heaps of rotting trash on the floor and dirty water dripping through the uneven walls. He thought he could see a dead rat in the corner, too. It was his worst nightmare come true.
"This place is filthy!" he shrieked and brought his chained hands to cover his face. "I can't work on my escape plan in these conditions!" With that he pulled a white handkerchief from his clothes and started polishing the closest wall in a hurry. It was awkward with the limited way he could move. The cloth turned brown within seconds and Mechanikles threw it away in disgust.
He started rattling his chains and screaming in panic. "Guard! Bring me water and soap! Fast! This is an emergency!"
Rasoul's face appeared to glare at him through the small barred window. "Water? Don't be stupid! We can't afford to waste it on criminals!"
Mechanikles looked shattered. "You can't expect me to live here!" he snapped.
"I don't," Rasoul said with a grin. "If everything goes the way I want to, you'll be executed as soon as possible."
We'll see about that, Mechanikles thought to himself. "Then let me have my last wish! I want to clean up this place!"
"I already told you --" Rasoul started, but then it looked like he had thought of something. His angry expression turned into a sneaky smile. "Why, of course. I'll send Hakim bring over the supplies at once." With that he came inside and let the inventor free of his chains.
Mechanikles could tell the guard was playing a game of some sort. However, he wasn't about to complain about getting his way for once. Instead, he turned back to look at the cell, his brain already forming a plan of organizational cleaning. He'd have to start from clearing the cell of trash and then begin from the ceiling.
To his annoyance, his thoughts turned to his damned nephew. He should have known that Pamphilos would disobey his orders. Young people were so rebellious! Good thing he had never had any children of his own.
Then again, Pamphilos had seemed like a relatively sane young man. Not at all like what Metrophanes had been like at that age. Mechanikles could remember the time when his brother had jumped off a cliff to test a pair of mechanical wings. He had to chuckle at the memory. Then he realised that Aspasia had probably encouraged Pamphilos to pull off his stunt and he grew grim again.
He wasn't very upset for that Pamphilos had denied him in front of everyone. It was the only sensible thing to do, unless they both wanted to get locked up. Now the young man at least had the chance of telling Aspasia what had happened. She would be upset, but there wasn't anything she could do about it.
Still, he could have called me something else than Spartan, he mused.
Another thing in his mind was his current situation. He was aware how horribly happy these barbarians were with their swords and beheadings, but he wasn't really worried. Death was a thing he didn't want to experience any time soon, but he was positive he would find his way out before that became a serious threat.
With disgust he turned his attention to the filthy floor and poked an unidentified pile of trash with the tip of his toe. "I guess there is no avoiding this," he muttered through gritted teeth. He started clearing the floor of the mess, soon gathering a heap in front of the door. A disgusted shudder went through his spine as he picked up a dead rat.
"This is a disgrace! How dare they keep their cells in this condition! Who knows what kind of horrible, icky disease I can pick up by just breathing this polluted air?" he complained angrily as he threw the rat on top of the trash pile. Other things included were lots of old straw, remnants of something he didn't want to know any better, a few other rats (or what was left of them) and some old rags. The stench was horrible and he was afraid he didn't smell much better.
He wiped his hands on his tunic and froze, only then realising his error. "Oh, no! I touched my tunic with these dirty hands!" His hands flew to his face in horror. "Oh, no! I touched my face!"
That was when the cell door opened. Mechanikles jumped over the trash pile and grabbed the guard's shoulders. "Water! Now!" he pleaded and poor Hakim was nearly knocked over.
"Here," he said and handed over two buckets of water. Mechanikles grabbed them like his life depended on it and rushed back into the depth of the cell, not even thinking about the possible chance of escape.
"Take these away!" he ordered Hakim and pointed at the trash pile. The tall guard glanced at the trash and then back at Mechanikles. He didn't look very happy to be ordered around by a prisoner.
"Well, I guess Rasoul would have made me clean up the cell in any case," he muttered dryly as he started the work. His expression was sour, but somehow Mechanikles got the feeling that this was a man who rarely smiled anyway.
He wasted no time and plunged his hands into the water and scrubbed them as clean as possible. Then was the time for his face. While the lack of soap made sure that the result was nowhere near as clean as he would have liked, he no longer felt the need to claw his skin off.
"Oh, and bring me a ladder as well, will you?" he remarked at Hakim when he noticed that the guard was almost done with his work.
"Of course, my lord. Nothing would make me happier," Hakim said. He banged the door shut and left Mechanikles in relative darkness.
Pamphilos' journey back to his uncle's headquarters felt like a dream. What would he tell his aunt? It had been a shock to him to hear that Mechanikles was something much worse than he had ever thought, but after a while it had started making sense. He had thought over his uncle's behaviour during the return flight and had come to the conclusion that the man was insane.
However, he was sure that his aunt wouldn't see it that way. She would either be heartbroken and deny everything or declare that she would love him no matter what. Pamphilos suspected that the latter option was more likely, but that didn't please him one bit. He could already feel that there was some kind of stupid plan looming in the horizon.
He wondered why he had ever been born into this family. He was so different from his father, aunt and uncle. What they thought to be normal was lunatic to him. He didn't share their interests, morals or dreams. There was nothing to connect them.
It was with a deep sigh that he landed and entered the headquarters. He found his aunt and uncle inspecting Mechanikles' desk and the small bugs that were standing on it. Both lifted their heads as they heard him enter.
"You were gone longer than I thought. I was afraid Mechanikles might be back before you. Did you have fun?" Aspasia asked with a smile.
"I guess so," Pamphilos said with a shrug.
The small gesture and his grim expression didn't go unnoticed. Simonides lifted his brows in a questioning matter and Aspasia's joy turned into a worried frown.
"What is it?" she asked and came over to him. "Did something bad happen?"
Pamphilos couldn't help feeling a little annoyed at that. He wasn't a baby. He didn't need his aunt to act like his mother. "I saw Uncle Mechanikles. He was captured and thrown to prison," he announced.
"What? Captured? What are you saying?" Aspasia asked. Her voice rose high and Pamphilos took a step away from her, just in case.
"Aladdin brought him to the palace and he was given to the guards. I think they might be holding a trial for him later," he said and watched how an angry flush spread on his aunt's face.
"For what? That must be a mistake! I'm going there right now to tell them that they have to let him go at once! You're coming with me, you can tell your friends in the palace that --" As she spoke she was already marching outside but froze when Pamphilos interrupted her.
"No, I won't."
Aspasia turned around slowly, an expression of shock on her face. "Excuse me?" she asked.
"You heard me." Pamphilos took a deep breath. "Aladdin told me all about Mechanikles. He has been trying to take over these lands. It's a wonder nobody has been killed yet! Just today Princess Jasmine was injured because of his inventions! He's a villain and I'm not blaming them for wanting to get rid of him!" he snapped.
"They might kill him?" Aspasia asked doubtfully.
"For all I know, yes. I can't say it would bother me too much," her nephew said. It was true. At that moment he felt nothing but shame and disappointment. To think that his own relative had caused so much trouble. In the beginning he had been excited about seeing his uncle, but the more he learnt about him, the less he wanted to know him.
"He must have had a good reason. I'm sure this is just some misunderstanding," Aspasia suggested.
"No, it isn't. Aladdin and the rest are good people. They have done nothing wrong. Mechanikles is the evil one and he deserves whatever fate they've decided for him!" Pamphilos said. He saw how his aunt turned to look at Simonides with a helpless expression on her face. Disgusted with that nobody was getting his point, he excused himself and marched outside.
He drew a deep breath to calm himself. He felt dizzy all of sudden and had to sit down. It was the first time he had blown up to anyone and it felt good; much better than he had ever expected. He leaned back and rested his head against the marble of which the headquarters were built of.
I want to go home, he thought. He wanted to see his mother, one of the few sane people in his life. She would understand him.
It was strange how everything had gone wrong. All his life he had listened to everyone's stories about his father and uncle, how brilliant they had been and how it was so tragic that they had lost both. While technology had never really interested him, he had grown to look up to the two men whom everyone -- with the exception of his grandfather -- adored.
He found himself sympathizing with the grim old warrior. It must have been difficult to lose a son and a good portion of the family's reputation because of stupid inventions. For the first time in his life, Pamphilos realised that he agreed with his grandfather. It was the best for everyone if Mechanikles never returned.
"You've made your aunt cry, you know," Simonides' voice said next to him.
Pamphilos didn't turn to look. "Uh-huh." He felt a little bad about that, but didn't let himself dwell on it. Aspasia had to learn to face the truth sooner or later.
"Don't you think you should apologize to her?"
Now he did turn his head. "For what? Telling her the truth? I'm sorry, but she's being a fool. Mechanikles isn't the man he was back at home or in your stories. You said so yourself when we came here," he said.
"Yes, but as much as I dislike him, he's still my wife's brother. It's just a fact that we have to learn to live with," Simonides said.
Pamphilos snorted. "That's not going to be too hard. He's trapped there, might be executed and we'll never see him again," he said.
"Hmm. Knowing your aunt, she just might come up with something," Simonides said. He didn't sound very enthusiastic about the idea, and Pamphilos couldn't blame him. He certainly didn't want to go to Agrabah on some idiotic rescue mission.
"I'm not going to have any part in it," he replied. Simonides didn't say anything to that. For a while they sat there in silence, but then the soldier got up and returned inside. Pamphilos didn't feel like encountering anyone, so he remained where he was.
He wondered if Jasmine was alright. She hadn't looked too badly injured, but he didn't know anything about medicine. He regretted not sticking around long enough to find out. Now he would keep worrying about her.
I can't go back, he mused. He was sure he wouldn't be able to look Aladdin in the eyes and not reveal everything. The only thing he wanted was to return home and forget he had ever even heard about Agrabah.
Eventually he decided that sulking alone was getting him nowhere. He got up and returned inside, a little nervous about what he might find. His aunt sobbing madly, throwing things around or pacing around were his top guesses.
None of them turned out to be correct. Instead, she was crouching over a large scroll on Mechanikles' desk. She briefly lifted her eyes when Pamphilos arrived, but turned her attention back to what she was doing.
"I'm going to rescue him," she said in determination. Her eyes were red and her face flushed, but her voice didn't shake anymore.
"What?" Pamphilos asked, hoping he had heard wrong.
Aspasia pointed at the scroll on the desk. "I'm not letting them kill him. He's my brother. So, I'm building one of these things, flying it to Agrabah and I'm not coming back without him," she announced.
"You?" Pamphilos wondered and cast a glance at Simonides. The soldier only rolled his eyes, indicating that he didn't like the idea either, but wasn't stupid enough to argue with his wife at this point.
"Yes, me. I may not be an inventor, but I know a little of these things as well," Aspasia said in an annoyed tone.
"It takes months to build something big enough to carry the both of you," Pamphilos pointed out. Maybe his aunt would give up this stupid plan if she was reminded of reality many times enough?
Unfortunately, Aspasia didn't look affected. "I know. That's why I'm taking apart some of the other things he's built and putting together their best parts. Oh, and by the way, it will carry four people. You two are coming as well."
"Now, wait a minute. I'm not risking myself to save him!" Pamphilos objected. He couldn't betray Aladdin and the rest like that!
"You'd rather let your uncle die?" Aspasia asked angrily.
"Well, no, but... It's not my fault he got himself into this! He did bad things and now he must face the consequences. Helping him escape wouldn't be only illegal, but wrong to all those who have suffered because of him," Pamphilos said in frustration. Why couldn't his aunt see this? It was so simple!
He turned to Simonides. "Tell her that this is insane! She will only get herself hurt and might get captured as well," he tried to reason.
"I know," Simonides said with a sigh. "However, I'm going to help her."
Pamphilos couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew for certain that Simonides didn't like this any better than he did. Why was the soldier giving in to his wife? It was uncharacteristic of him, as he usually made sure everyone knew that he was the head of the family. Had he tried, he could have forced Aspasia to shut up and obey like a proper wife should.
"Are you out of your mind?" he asked, no longer caring if he insulted the older man. Was there something in the air that was affecting everyone? First his uncle, making him an insane maniac, and now his aunt and Simonides as well?
"I wish I were," Simonides said. He wrapped his arm around Pamphilos' thin shoulders and led him away. "Listen, I don't want your aunt to hear this, but some people back home are very interested in your uncle. Or rather, his inventions. He may be the most irritating person in the world, but it won't do good to my career if I return home with a message about his death."
Pamphilos blinked. He opened his mouth to say something, but Simonides continued.
"Before you say anything, remember that he's still family. You've known that Aladdin for a few days. After we return home, you will probably never see him again. Do you want to sacrifice a family member for a friendship that can't be?" he said.
"I haven't known Mechanikles any longer than that either," Pamphilos pointed out. He consciously avoided mentioning the information he had been given. While he had been paying attention to politics, as was expected, he wasn't involved enough to know exactly what his uncle's words meant. If there was some kind of hidden war going on between the families, he didn't want to have anything to do with it.
"You just don't remember him. He used to carry you around on his shoulders so that you could see what was going on in the marketplace," Simonides said.
Pamphilos almost felt tempted to roll his eyes at that. "Don't try to trick me into feeling sorry for him. You aren't very good at that."
That silenced Simonides and removed the friendly expression from his face. The soldier's eyes hardened and he frowned slightly. "Alright. You've decided to be difficult. I have to admit I'm glad you're fighting and finally standing up to yourself, but this is not the right moment. If you don't care about your uncle or my career, think about your aunt," he said.
"What about her?" Pamphilos turned to glance back at Aspasia who was busy calculating something on paper.
"She doesn't know machines half as well as she thinks. She may have the basic knowledge, but she's a woman and has no experience at all. I don't know even that much. You're the only one who can put together something that works and take it to Agrabah. Do it for her sake. She's going to go no matter what, and I'd rather have you there making sure she doesn't crash into a wall and kill herself," Simonides said.
Pamphilos felt tired all of sudden. His earlier defiance had drained him and now he only wanted the easiest way out of the situation. Even if his aunt was difficult at times, he didn't want her to die. On the other hand, he didn't feel comfortable helping a criminal escape.
To his disappointment, he realised there was only one thing he could do. If everything went according to the plan, he would soon return home and would never have to worry about Agrabah again. However, if he refused to help and his aunt got killed because of that, he'd never be able to forget that.
"I'll do it," he sighed in defeat, already hating himself for it.
"How are you feeling?" Aladdin asked Jasmine. She was lying on her bed in her room with Aladdin by her side. The rest of their friends had left to give the two of them some time alone.
"I'm fine," Jasmine said. She had her arms crossed on her chest and slight frown on her face. She was mad, and as much as Aladdin hated being in trouble with her, he couldn't help noticing how cute she was when she was angry.
"I'm sorry I freaked out," he offered. "It's just that I was so scared when you got hurt."
"Well, you shouldn't worry about me like that. Haven't I already proven that I can take care of myself?" Jasmine asked.
"Of course," Aladdin assured. He ran his hand through his hair and took Jasmine's hand. "It's usually me who gets hurt and -- uh, not that it's alright for me to get into danger all the time, but... Jasmine, I don't want to lose you. Something bad might have happened today. I don't know what I would have done."
Jasmine's frown melted into a smile. "I know that," she said gently. "But you have to stop worrying about me when I say I'm fine," she added.
"I guess I can live with that," Aladdin said.
"Promise?" Jasmine asked.
"Promise."
With that he leaned closer to place a kiss on her lips.
Unlike Aladdin and Jasmine, Mechanikles wasn't feeling happy at all. He was frustrated, angry, tired and disgusted. He had spent hours trying to scrub the cell clean and hadn't had very much success. The ceiling was easy enough since there wasn't much dirt up there, but it was difficult to clean something that was so high. He had been given ladders and he had even tried using the numerous chains to climb the walls, but by the time he was finished with the ceiling, it was already night and his back ached like he had aged some thirty years.
One thing he had also noticed was that escaping would be very difficult. The guards had apparently been given instructions to be careful with him. Once they noticed that he had stopped working, they had come and chained him back to the wall. It was annoying and embarrassing, not to mention uncomfortable.
Even if he had been allowed to roam around the cell (which he didn't really want to do since the place was still filthy) he wouldn't have been able to get away. The only window was high above and had bars, and the door was locked, thick and guarded.
"Oh, once I get out of here I will show these fools just what it means to lock up the great Mechanikles," he muttered to himself as he tried to find the best possible position while having his hands chained. His words could have sounded a little more convincing, and he knew it. It was difficult to remain boastful when you were tired and alone in a dark prison cell with no way to change that.
At some point of the night he fell asleep. The next morning he was aching even more and had trouble standing up when Rasoul came to release him from the chains, and give him something that would probably be his only meal that day felt like torture.
He's just a little too happy to let me have my way, he pondered as he tried to swallow something he hoped to be bread. His mind was working fast and it was obvious to him that for some reason the guard wanted the cell to get cleaned. While it meant that these barbarians were finally learning the ways of civilized life, he didn't like being used.
He started to continue his work on cleaning the cell. It wasn't that he loved the chore, but he realised that it had more than one advantage at this point. Firstly, it fooled the guards into thinking that he wasn't trying to escape and secondly, it helped him think straight.
As he worked, he went through all possible escape plans. The window was out of question. He would never fit through it. The door was the only possibility, but not an easy one. He could always say he needed more water and run for it once the door was open. The problem was that he would have to defeat some dozen armed guards before getting out and, with no bugs, the estimated success ratio was rather low.
"That Aladdin, who does he think he is?" he started ranting to let out steam. "Not once has he tried to capture me but one his oh, so pretty princess gets hurt, he gets down to business!" He would show him just how severely he could hurt his friends once he was free again.
Back at Mechanikles' workshop, Aspasia and Pamphilos were doing their best at putting together something that might fly. They had taken apart several other machines and gears, cogs and nuts were lying all over the floor.
"This is harder than I thought," Pamphilos said. He was desperately trying to understand how the machination for the wings was supposed to work.
Aspasia silently agreed but wasn't going to admit it out loud. She was determined not to give up and lose another brother. She would make things work.
She tried her best not to think about the news Pamphilos had returned with. It sounded like her brother had become insane and violent over the years, but she didn't want to judge him before hearing his side of the story. After all, Pamphilos had heard everything from that Aladdin who apparently was Mechanikles' enemy. She regretted letting her nephew mingle with such folk.
Pamphilos threw a wrench away and sighed. He stopped working and just glared at the machines with an unhappy expression.
"What?" Aspasia asked. She was very disappointed with the way Pamphilos was taking this. The young man should have realised that family was more important than the words of strangers. She would have liked to remind him that this was the brother of his father they were talking about but didn't think it would help matters.
"This is not going to work," Pamphilos said and pointed at their work. "It will take days to finish this and we have to test is as well. By the time we're ready, they might have been off with his head already."
Aspasia gasped. "No! They wouldn't do that! Not so soon!" She bit her lip and frowned before coming to a decision. "You have to go back to Agrabah. Find Aladdin and ask him what they're going to do with him. Try to get to the dungeons to talk to him. Tell him that I'm coming!"
"No, that's stupid! I'm not doing it! What could I say? Aladdin would see through me at once and then I'd be captured too," Pamphilos said. He glanced around, probably trying to find Simonides for support. Aspasia was glad to notice that her husband was nowhere to be seen.
"I don't know, but you have to! It's driving me insane not to know what's going to happen to him! Please, Pamphilos, do this for me," she pleaded.
Her nephew didn't look happy. "He wouldn't do this," he pointed out.
"What?"
"Saving anyone, I mean. If you were captured, Mechanikles wouldn't even blink. The years here have made him insane, obsessed and unable to love anyone other than himself. I don't know why you're too blind to see that," Pamphilos said.
"He's my brother!" Aspasia snapped. She could feel her eyes tearing and wiped them angrily, not wanting to cry now. "You have no idea what you're talking about. You don't know him like I do."
Pamphilos didn't reply, only huffed to himself. It was obvious he had something to say but had decided that it wouldn't be worth it. Aspasia could feel herself grow annoyed. All his life Pamphilos had been such a polite person and now he was starting to rebel? Just what was his problem?
"Alright, young man. Get back to work. What kind of inventor are you going to be if you can't even put the wings together?" she asked bitterly, wanting to throw an insult back at him for treating her with so little respect.
"I'm not going to become an inventor."
He might have just as well slapped her. Her eyes widened and she choked on her breath. "What did you say?"
Pamphilos turned to look at him with a tired expression. "I don't want to start inventing. Technology doesn't interest me," he said.
"But you must! Your father was an inventor! Your uncle is one!" Aspasia tried to reason. Surely this was just one of the boy's foolish ideas, an attempt to disobey now that he was unhappy.
"And look where that got them. Father is dead, and Mechanikles is in prison. It's all their own fault and I'm not going to follow the example! Besides, it's my life and my decision," Pamphilos argued. He didn't turn to look at his aunt but kept his eyes to the floor.
"You have the talent! Don't waste it," Aspasia said.
"I don't have it! I have never designed anything of my own. I can barely read the designs here and even then I don't understand how the most complex parts work," Pamphilos said back. He sounded like he was having trouble keeping his voice down.
Aspasia crossed her arms on her chest. "Then what are you going to do?" she asked.
"I like architecture," Pamphilos replied. "I know I could be good."
"That is not a suitable profession for a decent man!" Aspasia snapped.
"And inventing is? Both are labour! You aren't my mother!" Pamphilos said. He turned to glare at her angrily. "But that's not the problem, is it? You want me to be your brother!" With that he got up and stormed outside, leaving the half-finished machineries behind.
Aspasia growled to herself and pushed the numerous scrolls on the desk away. How dare that boy speak to her in such a disrespecting manner? She was his aunt and had watched him grow up! She knew things better. And how could he have the nerve to suggest that --
"I saw Pamphilos on my way in. What are you arguing about this time?" Simonides asked as he stepped into the workshop.
"Something is wrong with that boy! After he came back from that Aladdin his head has been filled with these stupid ideas! Did you know that he doesn't want to be an inventor anymore?" Aspasia asked.
Simonides didn't look surprised or shocked. "Did he ever want to be one?" he asked.
"Of course he did! What are you saying?" Aspasia asked in return.
"I have never heard him say he wanted that. I spent more than enough time with your brothers. I know what a man obsessed with technology acts like and Pamphilos has none of that. You're the only one who has ever talked about him and inventing together," her husband remarked calmly.
"So, you think I've been pressuring him?" She had to admit that she had always been enthusiastic about the idea of Pamphilos continuing his father's work but she had never been obsessed with it. Everyone was just so stressed right now that they kept accusing her for nothing.
"I didn't say that, but you can be very patronizing when you want to," Simonides said.
"Well, if he didn't like my ideas, he could have said so sooner!" Aspasia snapped. She turned away angrily.
Simonides sighed. "Stop acting like that. If you want to have your brother saved, you should do something about these machines."
"Why do you even care? I know you don't like him," Aspasia said. She still wasn't looking at him. Then she felt his hands on her shoulders.
"I don't, but I know you'd be unhappy for the rest of your life if we didn't even try," he said. It made Aspasia feel a little better. At least someone still understood. She tilted her head to look at him and tried to smile.
"Thanks." Then she turned to collect the scroll on the floor. "We might need some new machine parts. I don't think we have any of them here, so..." she started, lifting a brow at Simonides.
"I'll send Pamphilos to buy some. I'm not touching any of those bugs," the soldier said.
So it was and one argument later Pamphilos found himself on his way to Agrabah. Despite the nervousness that kept increasing as he got closer to the city, he had to admit that he was relieved for getting away from his aunt. She was acting like a spoiled child and he was sick of that.
Yet he couldn't help feeling guilty about the way he had treated her. He didn't have siblings so he didn't know what his aunt was going through, but he guessed his reaction might have been similar if someone had done something to his mother.
His plan was to visit the marketplace, buy the parts he needed and then get out as soon as possible. Getting involved with anything else would be foolish.
It was a busy day in Agrabah, so he found it a little difficult to find what he was looking for. The crowd kept pulling him to directions he didn't want to take. Also, because he wasn't familiar with the market, he didn't know where to look for someone who sold machine parts.
Unfortunately, that was the least of his problems. Before he even knew it, he had bumped into someone and of course that someone happened to be Aladdin. He froze for a second, refusing to believe his rotten luck and trying to come up with something to day.
"Aladdin!" he stuttered quickly. "What a surprise!"
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting to see you again this soon. Are you admiring the buildings again?" Aladdin asked. If he noticed Pamphilos' nervousness, he didn't let it show.
"No, actually I'm doing some shopping for my aunt," Pamphilos said. He would have to get rid of Aladdin. He felt like the worst kind of traitor and it was difficult to avoid the desire to turn his eyes away in shame.
"Oh, what are you looking for? I'm also going to buy some food, so I could show you around," Aladdin suggested. Pamphilos noted that he was alone this time. Not even Abu was present.
"That's not necessary, really. How's Jasmine?" he asked, desperately trying to change the subject.
Aladdin's expression turned grim. "She's fine, but the bruises she got yesterday are really sore and she can't leave her bed. That's why I'm here. I'm trying to find something to cheer her up," he said.
"That's good," Pamphilos said, then realised what he had said. "That she's fine, I mean! I was afraid she might have got badly hurt."
"Me too. Good thing Mechanikles' machines aren't very effective at doing his bidding."
Pamphilos knew he shouldn't, but now there was a chance to do what his aunt had wanted. He drew a breath before asking the question. "Talking about him, has the Sultan already decided what to do with him?" he asked.
"Not that I know," Aladdin said with a shrug. "It will be decided within the next few days, I'm sure. Why do you ask?"
"Well... I was kind of wondering if I could see him," Pamphilos said meekly. He turned to investigate the pots a merchant was selling to his right.
Aladdin frowned in confusion. "Why would you want to meet him? He's not a very pleasant personality," he said.
Tell me about it, Pamphilos thought to himself. "It's stupid really, but it was my aunt's idea." For some reason lying didn't feel that bad when he mixed some truth into it as well. "She's really sentimental and thinks that he might have family back at home. Sparta, I mean. She said that if you're going to execute him, it would be only polite if we could take a message back to his relatives."
"I never thought of that," Aladdin said and rubbed his chin. "I don't know if the Sultan would like that..."
"Thought as much. It's no problem, I wasn't really looking forward to it anyway," Pamphilos said quickly. He was relieved. Now he wouldn't have to do it but he could go back to his aunt and say he had at least tried.
"...but I'm sure it wouldn't hurt anyone if we're careful," Aladdin finished. Pamphilos felt like kicking himself.
The Sultan wasn't very enthusiastic about the idea, just like Aladdin has guessed, but eventually he gave in. It was mostly thanks to Jasmine. She had got up despite everyone's protests and thought that the only civil thing they could do was to let someone take a message to whoever Mechanikles thought worthy. Aladdin wasn't surprised. Jasmine had always found it in herself to be kind to even the most rotten of souls.
"Don't let him scare you," he advised as Rasoul was leading him and Pamphilos down to the dungeons. It was a route Aladdin knew very well. He had been locked up there more than once.
"I won't," Pamphilos promised, but his voice betrayed him. He was nervous, Aladdin could tell.
"Here it is," Rasoul said and stopped in front of a thick door. "You can talk to him through the bars."
"Couldn't I go inside? I mean, he might have something personal to say," Pamphilos said. Aladdin was a little taken back by that he had the courage to object to Rasoul.
The head guard didn't look happy about his suggestion not being accepted. "Either this, or --" he started, but Aladdin cut him off, knowing he was just annoying the guard more.
"It's hardly a problem, Rasoul. Mechanikles is nothing without his bugs. He can't hurt Pamphilos," he said.
"I don't take my orders from you," Rasoul pointed out.
Yet, Aladdin would have liked to add, but it would have been a foolish thing to do. Instead, he said, "But you do take them from the Sultan. The sooner we get this over with, the happier he will be."
Rasoul frowned but didn't put up a fight. He opened the door to the cell, pushed Pamphilos inside and closed the door again. Aladdin wasn't worried about Pamphilos being alone with the inventor. As he had said, he knew Mechanikles could do nothing to hurt him.
Rasoul pointed at the cell. "I don't trust that boy," he growled.
"Relax," Aladdin chuckled, "it's not like he's going to help him escape or anything!"
"We're going to help you escape," Pamphilos whispered.
His uncle had frozen in the middle of scrubbing the floor and stared at him with wide eyes. Then he shot up and frowned in suspicion.
"How did you get here?" he asked.
"Aladdin showed me in. I don't have much time. We're coming to get you in a few days, so be ready," Pamphilos hurried to explain. "What were you doing on the floor?"
"Cleaning it, of course! I can't think in the middle of all this filth and disorder! Whenever I try to plot my way out of here, I get interrupted by thoughts of how dirty it is and how I could change it. Filth penetrates my mind! There, there, there!" Mechanikles replied and pointed at various spots in the cell. "Do you know that feeling?"
"Can't say I do," Pamphilos said. Well, at least imprisonment hadn't affected his uncle. He was still as insane as always. "Listen, I have to go or they'll get suspicious. Try not to get executed before we get here, right?"
"I can manage that," Mechanikles said thoughtfully. "But don't you dare think that I couldn't get out on my own!" he added quickly.
"Right," Pamphilos said and went to the door. Rasoul let him out again and eyed him suspiciously.
"That took long," he said.
"I know," Pamphilos said and glanced at Aladdin to make sure he was not alone with the scary guard. "He had a lot to say."
"So he did want to send a message to someone?" Aladdin asked.
"Yes, to his, uh... girlfriend," Pamphilos said quickly, then felt like slapping himself. How stupid could he be?
Aladdin and Rasoul glanced at each other in doubt. Neither said anything, though, and the trio left the dungeons quickly. Pamphilos sighed in relief once he was safely in the streets again.
"Thank you," he said sincerely. "This means a lot to my aunt."
"It was nothing," Aladdin said.
They parted way and Pamphilos went to finish his shopping. It took him a while to find a stand with used machine parts but he was hardly paying attention to it anymore. He was all too relieved and surprised at that nobody had seen through his weak lies.
Aladdin scratched the back of his head as he watched Pamphilos go. Maybe he was just imagining it, but the young Athenian seemed to be getting weirder every time he saw him.
Maybe the heat is getting to him, he wondered. He had noticed that some foreigners had a hard time adjusting to the scorching desert sun. Well, at least Pamphilos was being harmless, unlike certain others. With a shrug he decided to return to the palace to see how Jasmine was doing.
"How did it go?" Jasmine asked him once he got there.
"Everything went fine. In fact, I'm surprised nobody caused a scene," Aladdin admitted. Then he pondered something for a while. "By the way, did you know that Mechanikles has a girlfriend?"
To be continued…
Chapter 5: Chapter 5
“What took you so long? We’re in a hurry,” Aspasia said once Pamphilos got back. She grabbed the machine parts he had brought and started examining them critically.
Pamphilos crossed his hands behind his back. “I went to see Mechanikles,” he announced.
His aunt froze and dropped a large gear, almost smashing her toes in the process. “What?” she asked. “I thought you said --”
“Well, I met Aladdin so I decided to give it a try,” Pamphilos said. He was feeling annoyed and he couldn’t even tell why. Perhaps it was because he had ended up doing like his aunt had wanted all along.
He was surprised when Aspasia suddenly caught him in her arms and gave a quick peck on his cheek. “Thank you,” she said. Pamphilos stiffened but didn’t try to push her away.
“How was he?” his aunt asked as she let go. She picked up the gears again.
“He was fine. It looked like they haven’t been mistreating him and he hasn’t been given a sentence yet,” Pamphilos replied.
A relieved smile spread on Aspasia’s face but Pamphilos didn’t return it. Instead, he took the machine parts from her hands and walked over to the bug they had been building.
“We better hurry,” he said flatly.
They worked through the next two days, slowly but surely putting together a mechanical butterfly. Pamphilos and Aspasia didn't exchange many words during their work. Aspasia tried to start a conversation a few times but was faced with short answers and cold silences. Eventually she gave up and accepted that Pamphilos didn't want to talk to her.
When they got the machine done, the day had already turned into night. Simonides advised everyone to get a few hours of sleep before they tried their stunt. They were all tired and mistakes had to be avoided at all costs.
Aspasia couldn't sleep. Within a few hours they would leave for Agrabah and save her brother. The original plan had been to do it at night, but they had realised that they wouldn’t be ready until dawn. Aspasia hadn’t wanted to wait an extra day, so they had decided to take a risk. Everything had to go perfectly. She glanced to her side where Simonides was sleeping. He looked so calm.
She was sure she wouldn't be able to get any sleep so she decided to check up on the machine for the last time. She got up as quietly as she could and crept inside the dark workshop.
Everything looked so strange in the dark. The familiar shapes she had learnt to know during daytime felt threatening. What was worse was the knowledge that if they failed, the workshop would remain this way; uninhabited and cold.
Suddenly, she froze when she saw the shape of another person near the butterfly. Her breath got caught in her throat and she covered her mouth to keep herself from coughing. She recognised that dark silhouette!
It was Metrophanes.
Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest and the only thing she could hear was its quick pounding. She wanted to run to him, catch him in her arms and never let go, but she found herself unable to move. She could only watch as Metrophanes stood by the butterfly and examined it with his gaze. Then he turned to look right at her.
"What is it?"
The young voice that spoke did not belong to Metrophanes. Aspasia let out a sigh she had been holding and swallowed. It was only Pamphilos. She felt her knees shake but she was determined not to show it.
"Nothing," she replied.
"That's not true. Something is wrong," Pamphilos said. Aspasia realised that she hadn't been able to control her voice after all.
"You look a lot like your father," she admitted then. She felt foolish all of sudden. It had been dark, yes, but she shouldn't have been ridiculed that easily.
"So I've been told."
Aspasia couldn't see her nephew's face but she could hear the irritation in his tone. This was not a time to talk about him abandoning everything his father and uncle stood for, so she let it be.
"What are you doing here?" she asked instead.
Pamphilos shrugged. "The same as you, I think."
"Couldn't sleep?"
"No. I kept thinking about how, in a few hours, I'm going to betray people who trust me."
Aspasia didn’t reply. They had argued about that and she had nothing else to say. She could understand that Pamphilos was angry with the situation, but his attitude was disrespectful. Things didn’t always go as one wanted and sometimes you had to do things you didn’t like. A mature person would have simply accepted that.
They stood in silence until Simonides came. He gave them a look that showed exactly what he thought about sulking and pointed at the butterfly.
“So, it’s finished?” he asked.
“As finished as it can be with no expert around,” Aspasia sighed. “Let’s take it out. The day will dawn in a few hours. We don’t have much time.”
Agrabah was basking in the light of the early sun. Brilliant orange, yellow and red spread as far as eye could see. The coolness of the night hadn’t quite withdrawn yet and it was one of those rare moments when it was neither too hot nor too cold.
The city was still quiet. Its inhabitants were just getting up and some still lingered between dream and reality. The streets that were usually buzzing with life were deserted and lonely; even the poor and homeless had found a place to hide for the night.
In that light Agrabah looked like the most beautiful place in the world. From above Pamphilos could see every street and building and he felt sad for that there was no time to marvel at the designs.
“Where are the dungeons?” his aunt asked. Wind was playing with her hair and it was dancing around her face, getting tangled and messy.
“Over there,” Pamphilos said and tore his thoughts from the city. There was no time for that now.
Aspasia steered the butterfly to that direction. Pamphilos considered it a miracle that nobody had noticed them yet. The machine was making a horrible noise and was a far cry from the more dignified designs of his uncle. It would be only a matter of time before everyone realised what they were up to.
They flew to the buildings where the dungeons were. He hoped he had remembered where exactly his uncle’s cell was. Their plan was to get as close as possible, break a part of the wall and get Mechanikles out as soon as possible. It had to be done with the butterfly in the air. Aspasia said it was to save time, but Pamphilos suspected she wasn’t sure she could get the machine back up if they landed.
Simonides, being the strongest and most agile of them, climbed down with the help of a rope. He started to crush them with a hammer. The sound made Pamphilos wince. That wouldn’t go unnoticed.
“Watch it! I just got this floor polished!” was the angry reaction from inside, but thankfully Simonides’ skills at ignoring his brother-in-law hadn’t grown rusty over the years. He got his work done, kicked the last stones in and peered inside.
“Come on!” he said and threw a rope inside.
That was when the door was smashed open and two guards rushed into the cell, alarmed by the noise. Pamphilos couldn’t see it from his position, but he could hear the confusion. For a second he thought they were going to fail, but Aspasia took the butterfly higher as soon as she was sure Simonides and Mechanikles were hanging onto their ropes.
With Simonides’ assistance, it didn’t take long before Mechanikles was on board. He looked at the mechanical butterfly with a critical expression. "This is definitely not one of my creations. Who built it?" he asked. He turned his eyes to Pamphilos.
The young man shrugged. "We did," he said and pointed to Aspasia.
"Figures," Mechanikles muttered.
Aspasia frowned at him. "We didn’t really have the time to do better," she said.
“You could have at least picked matching metal plates! This wing is red and that is black!”
"We've got company," the Simonides informed them. Mechanikles, Aspasia and Pamphilos turned to look in the direction Simonides was pointing at. Indeed, there was Aladdin on his magic carpet.
Mechanikles looked at Aspasia. "Quick! How do you activate the weapons?" he asked.
"I didn't include any!" the woman shouted back.
Her brother stared at her in shock for a few seconds before almost exploding to her face. "What? What kind of idiot builds a mighty battle insect and forgets to add the offensive system?"
"I didn't forget! I didn't want anyone to get hurt," Aspasia threw back. Mechanikles resisted the urge to pull his hair and tell her that she was the biggest fool he had ever met in his life.
"You’re too soft for your own good," he muttered instead and leaned over to take a closer look at the controls. "How fast does this go?"
Meanwhile, Aladdin had caught up with them and was hovering a few metres away. His eyes widened in shock when he recognised Pamphilos.
"Pamphilos? What are you doing here?" he asked.
Pamphilos flashed an embarrassed smile at him. "I'm sorry. He’s family. I had no choice. I'm sure you'll understand one day." He waved sadly at the man who could have been his friend.
That was when Mechanikles and Aspasia figured out how to properly control the butterfly. The insect picked up its speed and dashed away before Aladdin even had the time to reply.
He sighed to himself and decided that going after the villains was not what he wanted to do first thing in the morning. He told Carpet take him to the dungeons to see the damage.
Rasoul was looking ready to kill someone. His poor men were getting a hard time from him and had no idea what to do. The angry flush on the Captain’s face told Aladdin that the wisest thing to do would have been fleeing, but, as was the case with most heroes, self-protection wasn’t one of his better qualities.
“You! I don’t have time for your heroics now, boy. The prisoner has escaped!” Rasoul growled when he saw Aladdin.
“I know. I just saw them,” Aladdin said.
“And you didn’t try to stop them?” Rasoul asked.
“I didn’t have the time. They were too fast,” Aladdin replied. That, and he wasn’t sure if catching Pamphilos would have been such a good idea. It hurt to think about that he had trusted such a traitor and he didn’t know what to think of that. He didn’t usually make such mistakes with people.
“Oh, sure,” Rasoul said. Then he pointed at the cell where Mechanikles had been. “They also destroyed part of the wall.”
Aladdin stepped into the cell to take a look. “This is a cell?” he had to ask. Apart from a heap of rubble below what had used to be a window, the room didn’t look like any of the cells he had seen in his life. Everything from the floor to the ceiling was spotless. He could even see his reflection in the chains. In fact, the cell was cleaner than his guestroom in the palace.
Suddenly, the Sultan and Jasmine appeared out of nowhere. The Sultan walked into the empty cell and looked around in amazement. "Rasoul, what is the meaning of this?" he inquired.
"Well, you see, Your Highness," the Captain of the guards started, desperately trying to come up with an excuse for why they had let a dangerous maniac escape.
"This is marvellous work! I had to admit I had my doubts, but you clearly took my words to your heart. I have never seen a cell so clean in my life!" the Sultan praised. Rasoul blinked once and then straightened his back.
"But of course, Your Highness. Your word is my law," he said with a grin. Aladdin shot him a glare, but didn't reveal the lie.
"And that is why I want every other cell to look exactly like that," the Sultan continued.
Rasoul's pleased expression turned to shock. "But, Your Highness --!"
"No, I won't hear it. I'm so proud of you. Make sure that everything is spotless the next time I come down here." With that the old ruler left. Rasoul growled to himself and walked away.
Jasmine looked at Aladdin with a puzzled expression. “What’s going on? Where is Mechanikles?” she asked.
“He escaped,” Aladdin said with a sigh. “It was Pamphilos. He and two other people helped him get away.” He couldn’t meet Jasmine’s eyes and kept glaring angrily somewhere between her knee and shin.
“Why would he do that?” Jasmine asked, stepping closer and lifting Aladdin’s head so that she could look at him.
“Turns out they were related,” Aladdin said. “He even had the nerve to say that I’d understand him.”
“And you’re sure you won’t?”
“Get real, Jasmine! Even if I had living relatives, they wouldn’t get themselves thrown to jail!”
“They aren’t following us,” Simonides observed.
“Of course they aren’t. That boy is the only even half-competent person in that city and he never bothers with going after anyone,” Mechanikles said.
Aspasia let Pamphilos take over the controls and turned to her brother. “I was so worried! I thought I wouldn’t see you again!” she said and buried him with a hug. Then she pulled back abruptly. “Ugh, you stink.”
“You think I don’t know that? I just spent half a week in a filthy dungeon!” Mechanikles snapped.
Simonides looked doubtful. “It can’t be that. I saw the place and it was the cleanest cell I’ve ever seen. You’re just a pig,” he said.
Mechanikles decided to ignore that comment and kept glaring into the horizon. He was surprised that his idiotic relatives had actually pulled off their stunt and that they had been willing to do so. Not that he couldn’t have escaped on his own, but it was sort of nice to realise that someone had wanted to help him.
“Where did you get the parts for this?” he asked. He was sure there hadn’t been enough extra parts around his workshop for this kind of invention.
Aspasia chuckled lightly. “Well, we sort of took everything else apart…”
“You did what?!”
The shock was so intense that he almost fell off the butterfly. Once he recovered from that he wondered briefly if it would have been a good idea to jump.
“It was the only thing we could do to save you in time!” Aspasia said desperately, but Mechanikles barely heard it. His beautiful inventions! Months, in some cases years of work destroyed by two idiots who obviously had no idea what they were doing!
“How could you do that?” he asked.
“We didn’t have time to --”
“There is always time! The Sultan who rules that place is a weak idiot! There have been only a handful of death sentences after they got rid of his vizier! I had nothing to worry about!” Mechanikles snapped. He turned away from everyone else, being unable to look at them at the moment.
“I didn’t know that!” Aspasia protested.
Mechanikles was too angry to reply. He clutched the metalwork of the butterfly so hard that his fingers almost started bleeding. He didn’t even notice the pain. To think that his beautiful creations had been torn apart for something like this! It was infuriating and it hurt.
“I’m sorry,” his sister offered.
“Save your apologies, they mean nothing to me! My work was my life!” he snapped, not turning to look at her. “You know how much I treasure my inventions and you still destroyed them? Were you insane?” he asked then.
“But I --”
“She was worried about you.”
Surprisingly, the latter comment didn’t come from Simonides but Pamphilos. Everyone turned to look at the young man in surprise. His expression was hard as stone, his shoulders tense and the disgusted look in his eyes betrayed his feelings openly.
“We just risked everything to save you and you don’t even find it within you to thank us. I was against this stupid idea in the first place, but nobody listened to me. I just don’t see why anyone would care enough to save someone as worthless as you,” he said.
“Pamphilos! Don’t speak to your uncle like that!” Aspasia snapped in shock. He turned to glare at her.
“Why not? He’s not the intellectual hero I was expecting to see when I came here. He only uses his inventions for evil, he obviously doesn’t care about any of us and hasn’t given me one reason to respect him!”
“Listen, boy, you have no idea what you’re talking about!” Mechanikles said. He would not listen to someone ridicule him like that. Especially someone who was much younger than him and inferior in every way.
Pamphilos shrugged and licked his lips, gathering his courage. “Then enlighten me. Why do you try to kill Aladdin or take over Agrabah?” he asked.
“For power, you young fool!”
“Oh, that is certainly such an important goal!”
“Pamphilos, be silent when talking about things you don’t understand,” Simonides said sternly, finally taking part in the argument.
“You can’t be defending him!” Pamphilos snapped in surprise, pointing at his uncle. Mechanikles wasn’t happy either. He didn’t need Simonides to help him.
“Kingdoms have been taken over for much pettier reasons before. I don’t see the problem,” the soldier said. “I appreciate the effort to spread civilization among these barbarians. Still, I have no toleration for the treatment I and my wife are getting. The minute we get back, we pack and leave back home.”
“But --” Aspasia objected, but wasn’t let to finish this time either.
“Don’t argue with me. I let you have your way and save your brother. Now we’re doing as I say,” Simonides said.
The rest of the journey took place in relative silence. The horrible noise coming from within the butterfly made it impossible for anyone to concentrate on their thoughts and only helped to make everyone angrier with each other.
The minute the machine landed, Mechanikles hopped off and ran to take a look at his workshop. The sight was what he had feared, but it did nothing to reduce the shock of seeing his lifework in ruins.
Cogs, gears and unidentifiable pieces of metal were lying everywhere. It was impossible to say where each part was from or even what their function had been. Some parts had been ruined beyond repair, such as a few wings he realised belonged to one of his earlier escape dragonflies. Aspasia and Pamphilos had taken apart everything in their search for the parts they needed.
Feeling strangely empty and too tired to rage, he collapsed on the floor and leaned against a beetle whose insides had been stolen. He felt like identifying with the machine for a moment, for he certainly felt like his heart had been just ripped out of his chest.
It would take weeks before he got everything organized and much, much longer before he had even half of his inventions back in working order. Replacing the damaged parts and re-building everything was such a huge task that he didn’t even want to think about it yet.
A sudden buzz brought him back to reality. He turned around and found himself staring right into the mechanical eyes of another beetle. The difference was that this one was working.
“Scooter! The vandals spared you!” he realised with a sudden stab of joy. At least he would have help in re-building everything.
He got up and pointed at the workshop. “Look what they did to your brothers and sisters! Everything is in ruins!” he told the beetle.
Scooter, as usual, gave no response but its presence was enough to make Mechanikles feel a little better. He patted the machine’s head with almost fatherly love and smiled for the first time in days.
“We’re going to make it better,” he decided. He would make new designs, two times better and deadlier than the old ones. That would show everyone not to mess with him. It would also be a good idea to lock the machines so that they would kill everyone (except him, of course) who tried to take them apart.
Yes, that was a brilliant idea! It would stop Aladdin from defeating him the next time around.
“Come, Scooter!” he ordered his pet and ran to his desk. He was about to throw everything on it on the floor, but froze in the middle of he movement. His eyes fell on a rough and unorganized blueprint that was most definitely not one of his.
“How amateurish,” he muttered to himself. The design belonged to the butterfly that was the reason all his precious inventions were rubble. Yet he couldn’t bring himself to throw it away. After a moment of hesitation he let it remain there and decided to postpone his future plans for the time being.
When he started to observe the situation from a logical point of view, he realised that he had been rather rude. It wasn’t something that would have normally bothered him, but this was his family this time. The only people in the world who would have come to his aid.
He pondered it in thought. Losing allies was never a strategically wise outcome. Maybe he was feeling a little sorry, too. Not enough to apologize or to forgive what had been done to his inventions, but enough to admit that he could have acted in a different way.
It was too late for that, though. To accomplish that he would have to admit that he had been wrong and he knew he was never going to do that. To himself, perhaps, but not to anyone else.
“Well, it is of no importance, is it, Scooter?” he asked the beetle. There was no reply which left him alone with his thoughts. He pondered what he should do. One thing he wanted was to have his family leave as soon as possible, so that he could start fixing things in peace. However, for some reason he felt a little bad about letting them go like that, without saying a word to them ever again. He decided he was a bit curious about how they were doing, so he went to change into a clean tunic and stepped outside.
Out of three, only one face looked up when he arrived. Everyone was packing and Simonides was folding the tents. It was all too clear to Mechanikles that he wasn’t welcome.
“It’s going to take long before you’re back at home,” he remarked.
“Too bad because we aren’t staying here,” Simonides said in the middle of his work.
Mechanikles pointed to the butterfly that stood abandoned down the hill. “You could take that and fly it home.”
“Too dangerous. It’s falling apart already,” Pamphilos said. Mechanikles didn’t find that surprising. He hadn’t seen a machine so badly constructed in years.
“I could fix it,” he muttered.
That stopped everyone. Their baffled stare was making Mechanikles uncomfortable, so he simply shrugged and continued, “I don’t need it, so if you don’t take it, it’s going to get trashed anyway.”
Aspasia grabbed Simonides’ arm and looked up to him. “We would be back with the children so much faster! Can we stay until he has fixed it?” she asked.
Her husband didn’t look convinced. “Why would you do that?” he asked.
“Take it as a thank you or a departure present, whichever you like,” Mechanikles said.
“So, you’re saying you’re sorry?”
“Don’t press it or I’ll change my mind!”
In the end it was decided that his relatives would stay for a few days longer. Pamphilos wasn’t looking too happy about the idea, but he was given no choice in the matter.
Repairing the butterfly and improving the parts that had been badly constructed wasn’t too difficult. It took a while before they found suitable parts from the destroyed inventions, but it looked like the work would be finished in a couple of days.
Aspasia was watching as her brother worked. As long as she didn’t babble all the time, Mechanikles didn’t mind too much. Only a few times he had had to resist the urge of telling her to leave.
“Thank you,” she said. “I didn’t think you’d even speak to me again after we destroyed everything.”
“You spared Scooter,” Mechanikles pointed out.
“The beetle has a name? How… eh, cute,” Aspasia said. She thought about it for a while. “Have you ever considered getting a live companion?”
“What? A dog?”
“Well, I was thinking more along the lines of someone human,” Aspasia said.
Mechanikles snorted. “You already made a mess of my workshop. The last thing I need is someone else doing that,” he said.
“You know, when we have the butterfly, we can come visiting more often,” Aspasia pondered.
“Now wait, I don’t think that is such a --”
“Next time, we could bring the children, too…”
The End